Autoimmune encephalitis (AE) is a rare but debilitating neurological disease in which the body develops antibodies against its own neurons and causes inflammation of the brain. It affects all age groups but children and women are more commonly affected. Patients may develop a rapidly progressive encephalopathy syndrome, manifested by changes in mental state and a number of neurological symptoms including impaired memory and cognition, vision and speech problems, impaired coordination, movement disorders and seizures, and psychiatric symptoms including psychosis, euphoria, aggressiveness and compulsiveness, inappropriate sexual behavior, and panic attacks. Symptoms may progress to loss of consciousness or even coma. 1,2
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Background: Children comprise only 1–5% of COVID-19 cases. Recent studies have shown that COVID-19 associated multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) can present with neurological signs and symptoms. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we have reviewed neurological involvement in these patients. Methods: A comprehensive electronic literature search was done on PubMed, Google Scholar, Embase, Cochrane database, and SCOPUS for the published English language articles from December 1, 2019, to February 28, 2021. A meta-analysis of the proportion was expressed as a pooled proportion with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Representative forest plots showing individual studies and the combined effect size were generated to provide an overview of the results.Results: This systematic review and meta-analysis analyzed 15 published MIS-C studies with a total of 785 patients. Neurological manifestations in patients with MIS-C was found in 27.1%. We found that 27% developed headaches, 17.1% developed meningism/meningitis and 7.6 % developed encephalopathy. Other uncommon neurological manifestations of MIS-C includes anosmia, seizures, cerebellar ataxia, global proximal muscle weakness and bulbar palsy. In MIS-C patients with neurological feature, neuroimaging showed signal changes in the splenium of the corpus callosum. Electroencephalography showed slow wave pattern and nerve conduction studies and electromyography showed mild myopathic and neuropathic changes. Conclusions: Our study revealed that neurological manifestations are not uncommon in patients with MIS-C. Further large prospective studies are needed to better explore the disease spectrum and to unravel the underlying pathophysiology.Keywords: Children; COVID-19; kawasaki disease; MIS-C, neurology
COVID‐19 has been associated with several neurological complications. We presented a case of Bell's palsy as a possible neurological complication of COVID‐19 infection. Further research should be conducted to clarify the association, correlation, or causality between COVID‐19 and neuroimmunological diseases.
BackgroundTransverse myelitis, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and nephropathy are established but rare complications of hepatitis B virus infection that can potentially be triggered by an antibody-mediated vasculitis as a result of a viral infection. The following is a case report detailing a patient presenting with all three of the above presentations who is cytoplasmic antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-positive and a chronic carrier of hepatitis B.Case presentationA 33-year-old Nepalese man presented to our hospital with headache, swelling of his body, paraplegia, and back pain that developed over a period of 10 days. Laboratory studies showed proteinuria and elevated levels of serum urea and creatinine. Viral serology was suggestive of chronic inactive hepatitis B carrier state. A computed tomography scan of his head revealed features suggestive of subarachnoid hemorrhage. Magnetic resonance imaging of his dorsal spine showed diffuse T2 high signal intensity within his spinal cord extending from second to 12th thoracic vertebral level which was suggestive of transverse myelitis. The origin of these symptoms was attributed to immune complex-mediated vasculitis after serum analysis for cytoplasmic antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody came out positive. He was managed with steroids administered orally and intravenously and entecavir administered orally.ConclusionThis case highlights the possibility of a hepatitis B virus-induced vasculitis as the cause of subarachnoid hemorrhage, transverse myelitis, and nephropathy.
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