COVID-19 asociada a nistagmo / COVID-19 presenting with nystagmus

Presentamos el caso de una mujer de 20años que se encontraba en el norte de Italia cuando se decretó el estado de alarma el 31 de enero de 2020 y volvió a España. A los 15 días de su regreso presentó un cuadro respiratorio de vías altas con fiebre, cefalea y anosmia que fue tratado como una sinusitis y a las 3semanas comenzó con sensación de mareo y un nistagmo horizontal en ambos ojos con componente rotatorio. La exploración otorrinolaringológica y neurológica con resonancia magnética fueron normales. Las pruebas serológicas para COVID-19 dieron un resultado positivo para anticuerpos IgG. En el contexto actual de pandemia, los síntomas y signos en esta paciente asociados a un test serológico IgG positivo nos permite considerar como causa del nistagmo adquirido la infección por SARS-CoV-2 (AU)

This case reports a 20-year-old female patient who was in northern Italy when the state of emergency was declared on the 31st of January 2020, developing 15days after return to Spain upper respiratory symptoms characterized by fever, headache and anosmia that was treated as sinusitis. Three weeks later presented with dizziness and an intermittent horizontal nystagmus with rotatory component. Otorhinolaryngology and neurological examination including MRI were normal. COVID-19 IgG antibodies where positive. In the context of the ongoing pandemic, and associating the symptoms with positive IgG antibodies, we can consider the infection of SARS-CoV-2 as a probable cause of the acquired nystagmus (AU)

COVID-19 asociada a nistagmo / COVID-19 presenting with nystagmus

Presentamos el caso de una mujer de 20 años que se encontraba en el norte de Italia cuando se decretó el estado de alarma el 31 de enero de 2020 y volvió a España. A los 15 días de su regreso presentó un cuadro respiratorio de vías altas con fiebre, cefalea y anosmia que fue tratado como una sinusitis y a las 3semanas comenzó con sensación de mareo y un nistagmo horizontal en ambos ojos con componente rotatorio. La exploración otorrinolaringológica y neurológica con resonancia magnética fueron normales. Las pruebas serológicas para COVID-19 dieron un resultado positivo para anticuerpos IgG. En el contexto actual de pandemia, los síntomas y signos en esta paciente asociados a un test serológico IgG positivo nos permite considerar como causa del nistagmo adquirido la infección por SARS-CoV-2

This case reports a 20-year-old female patient who was in northern Italy when the state of emergency was declared on the 31st of January 2020, developing 15days after return to Spain upper respiratory symptoms characterized by fever, headache and anosmia that was treated as sinusitis. Three weeks later presented with dizziness and an intermittent horizontal nystagmus with rotatory component. Otorhinolaryngology and neurological examination including MRI were normal. COVID-19 IgG antibodies where positive. In the context of the ongoing pandemic, and associating the symptoms with positive IgG antibodies, we can consider the infection of SARS-CoV-2 as a probable cause of the acquired nystagmus

Otoneurological findings in human immunodeficiency virus positive patients.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate vestibular function in human immunodeficiency virus positive subjects. METHODS: We studied vestibular function in 60 human immunodeficiency virus positive subjects reporting dizziness. All three Center for Disease Control and Prevention categories of human immunodeficiency virus infection were represented in the study group (30 patients in class A, 20 in class B and 10 in class C). Subjects had had no previous history of acute vertigo. All subjects underwent: neurotological screening for spontaneous, positional and positioning nystagmus, using head-shaking and head-thrust (Halmagyi) tests; audiometrical examination; and electronystagmography with bithermal stimulation (Freyss' method). The results of the 30 class A subjects were compared with those of 30 human immunodeficiency virus negative patients reporting dizziness. RESULTS: Abnormal otoneurological findings increased progressively from the A to C categories, particularly regarding increased central damage (3.3 per cent of class A, 35 per cent of class B and 100 per cent of class C subjects). In contrast, the incidence of peripheral vestibular disorders remained almost the same, comparing the three categories (33.3 per cent in class A and 50 per cent in classes B and C subjects). Moreover, a higher number of human immunodeficiency virus positive subjects showed abnormal otoneurological findings, compared with the dizzy, human immunodeficiency virus negative subjects. CONCLUSIONS: In our opinion, a vestibular disorder may occur in human immunodeficiency virus positive patients as a result of direct viral damage, even in the early phase of infection. Central vestibular damage may be established later on, and may be linked to different causes (e.g. superinfections, vascular causes and drug toxicity).

Acyclovir responsive brain stem disease after the Ramsay Hunt syndrome.

We report an immunocompetent patient with the Ramsay Hunt syndrome (RHS) followed days later by brainstem disease. Extensive virological studies proved that varicella zoster virus (VZV) was the causative agent. Treatment with intravenous acyclovir resulted in prompt resolution of all neurological deficits except peripheral facial palsy. This case demonstrates that after geniculate zoster, brainstem disease may develop even in an immunocompetent individual and effective antiviral therapy can be curative.

Ramsay Hunt syndrome: pathophysiology of cochleovestibular symptoms.

Ramsay Hunt's hypothesis that herpes zoster oticus results from reactivation of the varicella zoster virus (VZV) in the geniculate ganglion is supported by the detection of viral genome in archival temporal bones of normals and Ramsay Hunt patients by the polymerase chain reaction. Ramsay Hunt syndrome is characterized by the presence of cochleovestibular symptoms in association with facial paralysis. VZV has also been demonstrated in the spiral and/or vestibular ganglion. Two cases are reported in which cochleovestibular symptoms outweighed the facial nerve symptoms, presumably representing VZV reactivation in the spiral and/or vestibular ganglion. From these observations and the known dormancy of VZV in non-neuronal satellite cells, it is argued that the cochleovestibular symptoms in Ramsay Hunt syndrome may result from VZV transmission across the nerves inside the internal auditory canal and that prompt treatment with an antiviral-corticosteroid combination might be justified in the management of any acute non-hydropic cochleovestibular syndrome.

Acute cerebellar ataxia with human parvovirus B19 infection.

A 2 year old boy developed acute cerebellar ataxia in association with erythema infectiosum. During the disease, genomic DNA and antibodies against human parvovirus B19 were detected in serum but not in cerebrospinal fluid. Parvovirus B19 associated acute cerebellar ataxia might occur due to transient vascular reaction in the cerebellum during infection.

Ocular flutter and truncal ataxia may be associated with enterovirus infection.

We report on three patients who presented a rare, uniform clinical syndrome consisting of ocular flutter and truncal ataxia. In all patients the symptoms followed an upper respiratory infection and resolved without sequelae within a few weeks. Previous reports have emphasized the apparent relationship of this entity to infectious disease, but the infectious agent remained uncertain. In one patient we could find a significant rise in antibody titres to enterovirus. We are not aware of any other similar documented case.