Mild Course of COVID-19 infection in a patient with Rasmussen Encephalitis

Abstract

Rasmussen encephalitis (RE) is a rare disease of unknown etiology that affects one hemisphere and causes refractory epilepsy, progressive neurological and cognitive dysfunction. A 17-year-old patient with RE underwent unilateral hemispheric surgery. Her seizures started at nine years old and she underwent left temporal lobectomy at 10 years old. She had been receiving intravenous immunoglobulin and tacrolimus in addition to antiseizure medications. Three weeks after hemispheric surgery, she had COVID-19 infection with mild symptoms. We suggest that light course of COVID-19 infection maybe due to exposure to long-term immunomodulatory treatment.