Autosomal Recessive Congenital Ichthyosis and Steroid-Resistant Nephrotic Syndrome due to Homozygous Mutation in the ALOX12B gene: A Novel Association with Review of Literature

Nephrotic syndrome (NS) associated with autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis (ARCI) is a rare association. In this article, we described a 4-year-old boy with steroid-resistant NS (SRNS) who had a history of ichthyotic skin lesions since birth. Renal biopsy revealed focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (tip variant). The skin biopsy was consistent with the findings of ichthyosis. Next-generation sequencing revealed a homozygous pathogenic variant (c.1625_1626del) in the exon 12 of the ALOX12B gene, confirming the diagnosis of ARCI2. The ALOX12B gene belongs to the lipoxygenase family and has a pivotal role in the formation of lipid layers in the epidermis. Leukotrienes have a counter-regulatory effect within the inflamed glomeruli, which influences the vascular tone and glomerular basement membrane permeability, that can be implicated in the pathogenesis of the NS. This child is currently in remission, on tacrolimus and low-dose prednisolone, with emollients and is on regular follow-up. SRNS associated with congenital ichthyosis secondary to a mutation in the ALOX12B gene has never been reported so far. The knowledge regarding this novel association will help the treating physicians in diagnosing this condition early, which will enable proper genetic counseling and prognostication of the disease to the family.

Intensive Care Unit-Acquired Weakness in Children: A Prospective Observational Study Using Simplified Serial Electrophysiological Testing (PEDCIMP Study)

Background

To study the incidence and time of onset of intensive care unit—acquired weakness in a prospective cohort of children (2–12 years) by serial simplified electrophysiological assessment (Pediatric Critical Illness Myopathy Polyneuropathy study, PEDCIMP).

Methods

A single-center, prospective cohort study (Trial Registry Number: NCT02763709; PEDCIMP2016) was conducted at the pediatric intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital in North India. A complete electrophysiological evaluation (4 motor nerves and 2 sensory nerves) was performed at baseline in children (2–12 years) admitted to the ICU with a pediatric risk of mortality (PRISM) of > 20 with more than 24-h stay. Following the entry evaluation, a minimal alternate day simplified electrophysiological testing of the unilateral common peroneal nerve and the sural nerve was assessed. A 25% reduction in compound muscle action potential (CMAP) and sensory nerve action potential from baseline was considered significant for ICUAW and was confirmed by complete electrophysiological re-evaluation.

Results

Of the total 481 children assessed for eligibility, 97 were enrolled. The median age of the cohort was 7 years. Sepsis (81%); need for vasoactive support (43%); multiorgan dysfunction (26%) were the common reasons for admission. Of the 433 eligible patient ICU days, 380 electrophysiological observations were done. A significant decrease of > 25% in CMAP of common peroneal nerve was not detected in any of the 380 observations. However, two children unfit for inclusion were diagnosed with ICUAW during the study period.

Conclusions

Children admitted with PRISM > 20 have a very low incidence of intensive care unit—acquired weakness by serial clinical and abbreviated electrophysiological evaluation.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1007/s12028-020-01123-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Telephone-based follow-up of children with epilepsy: Comparison of accuracy between a specialty nurse and a pediatric neurology fellow

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Childhood epilepsy forms a significant burden on the health-care delivery system.

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Telemedicine is a proposed effective alternative in overcoming this burden.

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Even simple mobile phones can be used by paramedical professionals.

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Tele-consultation in childhood epilepsy by pediatric neurology fellow has excellent sensitivity and specificity.

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A specialty nurse has also acceptable sensitivity and specificity in comparison with face-to-face consultation.

Background

Childhood epilepsy forms a significant burden on the health-care delivery system. Only a few pediatric neurologists available in most of the developing countries and caregivers face a lot of financial and logistic hardships, apart from a long waiting period for initial and follow up visits. Telemedicine is a proposed effective alternative in overcoming this burden.

Methods

Telephonic consultation by a pediatric neurology fellow was compared with that of a specialty nurse; both against face-to-face consultation (gold standard). Care-givers of children 4 months-18 years with epilepsy were telephonically consulted 24−48 hours before their scheduled hospital appointment by one specialty nurse and one pediatric neurology fellow at least 24 h apart in a random sequence. During the hospital visit, another pediatric neurology fellow blinded to the telephonic consultation, documented the same after Face-to-Face interview.

Results

In 141 children with epilepsy, 504 critical clinical events were identified. Telephonic consultation by pediatric neurology fellow had a sensitivity of 99 %, 97 %, and 100 % and specificity of 100 % each in detecting whether the child had any breakthrough seizure, any adverse event and whether the drug compliance was adequate or poor respectively, as compared to face-to-face consultation. Telephonic consultation by specialty nurse had a sensitivity of 91 %, 84 %, and 98 % and specificity of 97 %, 99 %, and 81 % in detecting whether the child had any breakthrough seizure, adverse event and whether the drug compliance was adequate or poor respectively. But the specialty nurses fared poorly in identifying atypical seizure semiologies like atonic and myoclonic seizures and documenting an exact number of breakthrough seizures, as well as few subjective adverse effects like behavioral abnormality and scholastic worsening, which was performed excellently by the pediatric neurology fellow.

Conclusions

Telephonic consultation in childhood epilepsy by pediatric neurology fellow has excellent sensitivity and specificity. A specialty nurse has also acceptable sensitivity and specificity in comparison with a face-to-face consultation.

Clinical spectrum of KIAA2022/NEXMIF pathogenic variants in males and females: Report of three patients from Indian kindred with a review of published patients

BACKGROUND

In the last two decades, with the advent of whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing, supplemented with linkage analysis, more than 150 genes responsible for X-linked intellectual disability have been identified. Some genes like NEXMIF remain an enigmatic entity, as often the carrier females show wide phenotypic diversity ranging from completely asymptomatic to severe intellectual disability and drug-resistant epilepsy.

METHODS

We report three patients with pathogenic NEXMIF variants from an Indian family. All of them had language predominant developmental delay and later progressed to moderate intellectual disability with autistic features. We also reviewed the previously published reports of patients with pathogenic NEXMIF variants.

RESULTS

Together with the presented cases, 45 cases (24 symptomatic females) were identified from 15 relevant research items for analysis. Males have demonstrated a more severe intellectual disability and increasingly delayed walking age, autistic features, central hypotonia, and gastroesophageal reflux. In contrast, females have shown a predominant presentation with drug-resistant epilepsy and mild to moderate intellectual impairment. Notably, the affected females demonstrate a higher incidence of myoclonic, absence, and atonic seizures. The majority of the variants reported are nonsense or frameshift mutations, causing loss of function of the NEXMIF gene, while a considerable proportion possesses chromosomal translocations, microdeletions, and duplications.

CONCLUSIONS

NEXMIF gene mutations should be suspected in all cases of X-linked ID and autism cases in males or even in refractory epilepsy cases in females.

Feasibility and effectiveness of teleconsultation in children with epilepsy amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in a resource-limited country

INTRODUCTION

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown measures employed by the government have forced neurologists across the world to look upon telemedicine as the only feasible and practical option to continue providing health care towards children with epilepsy in home isolation. Children with epilepsy are challenging for teleconsultation as direct information from the patient is missing, regarding seizures and adverse effects, especially behavioral and psychological side effects.

METHODS

Clinical and epilepsy-related details of telephonic consultations for children 1 month-18 years, performed between 26th March and 17th May 2020 in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Uttarakhand (a state of India known for hilly terrains with low per capita income) were recorded. Suitable changes in the dose/commercial brand of antiepileptic drug (AED) regimen were performed, along with the addition of new AED and referral to local practitioners for immediate hospitalization, when urgent health care issues were detected. Voice call, text message, picture/video message, and all other possible measures were employed to accumulate maximum clinical information in real-time.

RESULTS

A total of 153 children(95 males [62 %], 9.45 ± 3.24 years, 140 lower/middle socioeconomic status) were enrolled after screening 237 children with various neurological disorders, whose caregivers contacted for teleconsultation. A total of 278 telephone consultations performed for these 153 children (1-5 telephone calls per patient). Hundred-thirteen children were identified to have a total of 152 significant clinical events (breakthrough seizure/uncontrolled epilepsy (108), AED related (13), and unrelated systemic adverse effects (24), worsening of associated co-morbidities (7). In rest of the patients, the query of the caregiver included unavailability of AED/prescribed commercial brand in the locality, query related to the dose of drugs, proxy for a scheduled routine visit (no active issues), and concern regarding COVID-19 related symptoms and effect of COVID-19 and lockdown in children with epilepsy. Ninety-three (60 %) patients required hiking up of AED dose, whereas 29 (17 %) patients required the addition of a new AED/commercial brand. Five children were advised immediate admission to a nearby hospital. Overall, 147 (96 %) caregivers were satisfied with the quality of medical advice.

CONCLUSION

Teleconsultation is one of the few feasible options with good effectiveness for providing medical advice to children with epilepsy during pandemic times.

Case Report: An Adolescent Girl with Isolated Neuropsychiatric Features and Apparent Post-Malaria Neurological Syndrome

The post-malaria neurological syndrome (PMNS) is an unusual and relatively underreported complication of malaria, which usually occurs after the resolution of acute febrile illness and the patient is free from parasitemia. The clinical spectrum of the PMNS varies from acute-onset cerebellar ataxia to significant encephalopathy with focal deficits resembling acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. Uncommon presentations of PMNS include Guillain-Barre syndrome, postural tremor, or even isolated neuropsychiatric features. Although in a significant proportion of PMNS cases clinical resolution occurs with conservative treatment only, corticosteroids have been used in an attempt to hasten recoveries. Here, we present a case of a 12-year-old girl with acute onset, isolated neuropsychiatric features, following Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Neuroimaging, clinical examination, and cerebrospinal fluid studies were within normal limits. The child recovered completely after treatment with methylprednisolone pulse therapy. This case report illustrates the need for creating awareness about this uncommon complication of malaria. In view of the uncommon complication, early diagnosis and prompt treatment might help in the early resolution of symptoms.

Epileptic Spasms in an Infant with Incontinentia Pigmenti: Report of a Rare Case with Brief Review of the Literature

Incontinentia pigmenti (IP) or Bloch–Sulzberger’s disease is a rare neurocutaneous syndrome with dermatological, neurologic, and systemic manifestations including retinal, dental and hair abnormalities. It follows X-linked dominant inheritance and predominantly affects female children. The characteristic evolution of skin lesions in four stages is a hallmark diagnostic feature of the disease. The pigmented lesions of IP are usually distributed in linear streaks, macular whorls, reticulated patches, and flecks along the Blaschko lines. Neurologic morbidities are found in a considerable proportion of affected children, and the spectrum includes seizures, neuromotor impairment, microcephaly, developmental delay, and intellectual disability. Seizures are reported in 10% to 25% of children with IP in various previous clinical studies. The majority of these children had seizures in the neonatal period or early infancy, and focal–clonic seizure is the commonest observed semiology. However, there are only a few case reports of infants with IP with epileptic spasms. In this report, the clinical course of a 6-month-old girl with IP and epileptic spasms has been described, who responded favorably to treatment with adrenocorticotropic hormone injection. Clinicians managing children with IP should be aware of their predisposition to develop epileptic spasms and consider neuroimaging, electroencephalogram, and other investigations accordingly.

Case Report: Dengue Virus-Triggered Parkinsonism in an Adolescent

Dengue fever continues to be an important cause of morbidity and mortality in tropical and subtropical countries. A wide range of neurological manifestations including dengue encephalopathy, Guillain-Barre syndrome, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, transverse myelitis, cranial nerve palsies, and myositis have been reported following dengue infection. But parkinsonism secondary to dengue virus infection is uncommon, with only three published case reports in adults and one in children. We describe a 13-year-old pre-morbidly normal boy, who presented with bradykinesia, bradyphonia, mask-like facies, and cogwheel rigidity while recovering from uncomplicated DF. He responded favorably to levodopa/carbidopa supplementation and had resolution of symptoms over the next 2 weeks. We also did a comparative review of all published cases of dengue-induced parkinsonism. Post-dengue, parkinsonism is uncommon, and treating clinicians should be aware of this uncommon but treatable neurological complication of a common arboviral infection.