Does Pretreatment with a Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha-inhibitor Improve the Outcome After Ischemic Cerebral Infarction? A Case Report

Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) plays a major role in inflammatory and vascular processes after cerebral ischemia. TNFa-Inhibitors have, on the one hand, been associated with thromboembolic events; on the other hand, they may prevent brain edema after stroke or injury. Here, we report on a 38-year old Caucasian male with a history of Crohn´s disease, treated with adalimumab, who presented without brain edema and only minor sequelae after a major ischemic stroke. This case report illustrates two interesting aspects: 1) the treatment with adalimumab could, in that case, be the etiology for the thromboembolic event; and (2) pretreatment with this TNFa-Inhibitor was the most likely reason why the formation of brain edema was suppressed.