Encefalomielitis diseminada aguda posinfecciosa en un paciente con sospecha de infección por virus dengue / Postinfectious acute disseminated encephalomyelitis in a patient with suspected dengue virus infection

Introducción: La infección por virus dengue es considerada una de las arbovirosis de mayor prevalencia en los países tropicales. La encefalomielitis diseminada aguda es un trastorno inflamatorio desmielinizante y multifocal que afecta al sistema nervioso central, de inicio agudo y curso clínico monofásico. El proceso inflamatorio se encuentra mediado por mecanismos inmunológicos y su relación con infecciones por el virus dengue aún no se establece con claridad. Objetivo: Describir un caso clínico con manifestaciones del sistema nervioso central después de una probable infección por el virus dengue. Presentación del caso: Paciente femenina de 50 años, con antecedentes de hipertensión arterial controlada. Quince días después de un cuadro de fiebre de 4 días de duración, que posiblemente fue por una infección por el virus dengue, comienza con síntomas y signos de afectación neurológica caracterizadas por ligera irritabilidad, dificultad para la concentración en una actividad específica de la vida cotidiana. Progresivamente se nota dificultad motora en el hemicuerpo izquierdo además de encontrarse agitada y distraída, motivo por el cual se decide su ingreso hospitalario. Se realiza el diagnóstico a través de los hallazgos en el examen físico, los estudios positivos de resonancia magnética nuclear y el resultado positivo de la IgM de dengue en sangre. Tanto la evolución clínica como la respuesta al tratamiento con esteroides fueron favorables. Conclusiones: El evento ocurrido en este caso sugiere que los facultativos deben tener presente el diagnóstico de encefalomielitis diseminada aguda en pacientes que han tenido infección previa o alta sospecha de esta por el virus dengue(AU)

Introduction: Dengue virus infection is one of the most prevalent arboviruses in tropical countries. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis is an inflammatory demyelinating multifocal disorder affecting the central nervous system. Its onset is acute and its clinical course monophasic. The inflammatory process is mediated by immunological mechanisms, and its relationship to dengue virus infections is still not clear. Objective: Describe a clinical case of central nervous system manifestations after probable dengue virus infection. Case presentation: Female 50-year-old patient with a history of controlled hypertension. Fifteen days after a 4-day fever episode, possibly due to dengue virus infection, the patient starts presenting neurological signs and symptoms, such as slight irritability and difficulty to concentrate on a specific activity of daily living. The patient notices progressive motor difficulty in her left hemibody and she feels agitated and distracted. It is therefore decided for her to be hospitalized. A diagnosis is made based on physical examination findings, positive nuclear magnetic resonance studies, and the positive result of the dengue IgM blood test. Both the patient's clinical evolution and her response to treatment with steroids were favorable. Conclusions: The event herein described suggests that physicians should consider the diagnosis of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis in patients with previous infection or high suspicion of infection with dengue virus(AU)

[Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis following influenza vaccination: report of a case with callosal disconnection syndrome].

We present a case of callosal disconnection syndrome as a rare manifestation of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM). A dextral 48-year-old Japanese woman received trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine in mid-November 2011. Twenty days later, she was found to be in a daze. Subsequently, she developed abnormal behavior and gait disturbance, and she was disoriented regarding time and place. Nystagmus and abnormal ocular movements were absent. Upper limb power was normal, whereas her lower limbs were mildly weak. Tendon reflexes were normally evoked without pathological reflexes. There was no sensory impairment. Serum CRP levels were slightly elevated; other routine laboratory tests, thyroid functions, and vitamin B1 levels were within the normal range. Cerebrospinal fluid examination revealed that it was acellular with a protein level of 54 mg/dl and high myelin basic protein level. Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery MR images revealed a large hyperintense lesion in the corpus callosum, but the lower part of the splenium was spared. Flow voids were observed in the pericallosal arteries. She was diagnosed with post-vaccination ADEM and vigorously treated with an intravenous infusion of methylprednisolone (1 g/day for 6 days) and immunoglobulin (1.2 g/kg). Gait disturbance and disorientation rapidly improved; however, tactile anomia, ideomotor apraxia, ideational apraxia, and agraphia of the left hand were present one month after onset. She had no aphasia or alexia.Interestingly, the patient's left unilateral agraphia was more prominent in kana than kanji (an article in Japanese text) for polysyllabic words, whereas she could write kana characters to dictation. Changes in the sequential order of kana characters within a word were observed. These findings were similar to those observed in pure agraphia associated with lesions in the posterior part of the left middle frontal gyrus. Thus, an interhemispheric mechanism is probably involved in the selection and arrangement of kana characters to form words.

Attention deficits following ADEM ameliorated by guanfacine.

The authors report here the case of a patient with severe deficits in arousal and sustained attention, associated with hemispatial neglect. These impairments were secondary to acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, with bilateral involvement of the medial nuclei and pulvinar of the thalamus. Treatment with the noradrenergic agonist guanfacine, previously used for attention deficits in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and stroke, was associated with a significant amelioration of both the spatial and sustained attention impairments in neglect. Guanfacine may prove to be a useful tool in the treatment of disorders of attention associated with neurological conditions.