Autoimmune Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura: Two Rare Cases Associated with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis and Multiple Sclerosis

Despoina Dimopoulou, Athina Dimosiari, Eudokia Mandala, Theodoros Dimitroulas, Alaxandros Garyfallos

Secondary thrombotic microangiopathies are associated with several underlying conditions, with most of them being resolved after the treatment of background disease. Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a rare microangiopathy presenting with anemia, thrombocytopenia, and neurological deficits, occurring most often in various autoimmune diseases due to inhibition of ADAMTS13 by autoantibodies, as well as in pregnant women with or without an autoimmune substrate. In this article, we report two newly diagnosed TTP cases, who have not been published so far. The first is a 27-year-old woman with a history of polyarticular rheumatoid factor negative juvenile idiopathic arthritis, who presented with thrombocytopenia, anemia, schistocytes on blood smear, headache, and active arthritis. Originally she was treated successfully with plasma exchange, intravenous prednisone, and vincristine, and a few months after the TTP episode, she was commenced on rituximab, resulting in remission of primary disease and no relapse of TTP. The second case refers to a 29-year-old pregnant woman complaining of dizziness and fatigue with microangiopathic hemolytic anemia. She was treated with plasma exchanges, intravenous prednisolone, and INN human normal immunoglobulin with full remission of the TTP episode. Six and half years later, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and was commenced on interferon beta-1 alpha, with no recurrent episode of TTP. These cases broaden the spectrum of autoimmune disorders manifested or complicated clinically by TTP. Furthermore, biological agents such as rituximab appear to be an effective treatment option for refractory cases of TTP related to systemic rheumatic disease, indicating an alternative therapeutic solution in persistent cases of this disorder.