Limbic encephalitis secondary to neuro-Behcet disease: an uncommon presentation

INTRODUCTION

Limbic encephalitis (LE) can have a wide range of etiologies, most frequently infectious (especially viral) or autoimmune. Behcet's disease (BD) can present with heterogeneous neurological manifestations. However, LE is not considered a typical presentation of neuro-Behcet's disease (NBD).

CASE REPORT

A 40-years-old male presented with new-onset subacute headaches, memory problems and apathy. A review of systems revealed an unrecorded past history of recurrent oral sores for years, recent malaise and fever, as well as an episode of bilateral panuveitis four months before presentation. His general and neurologic examination revealed slight fever, an isolated oral aphtha, anterograde amnesia and signs of bilateral retinal vasculitis. Brain magnetic resonance imaging displayed a pattern of limbic meningoencephalitis, and his cerebrospinal fluid showed mononuclear inflammation. The patient met BD diagnostic criteria. Considering LE is a very rare presentation of NBD, alternative etiologies were thoroughly assessed and excluded, including infectious, autoimmune and paraneoplastic encephalitis. Therefore, he was diagnosed with NBD, and he recovered well after immunosuppression.

DISCUSSION

Only two cases of NBD presenting with LE have been previously reported. We report a third case of this rare presentation and compare it with the previous two. We aim to highlight this association and contribute to enlarge the rich clinical spectrum of NBD.

[Guillain-Barre syndrome and thrombocytopenia after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination with Moderna. A case report]

INTRODUCTION

The massive vaccination against the SARS-CoV-2 virus has demonstrated to be one of the major measures for the reduction of the morbidity and mortality that this virus causes. However, during the last months the administration of the vaccine has been also associated with some rare, but life-threatening, adverse effects.

CASE REPORT

In this article we describe the case of a patient that developed a Guillain-Barre syndrome and an Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura nine days after the vaccination with the third dose for the SARS-CoV-2 virus (Moderna). He had received previously two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Moreover, the patient was positive for auto-antibodies anti-SSA/Ro60 and auto-antibodies IgG anti-GM1 and IgG anti-GM3.

DISCUSSION

Even though it is not possible to stablish a clear relation of causality between the administration of the vaccine booster for SARS-CoV-2 and the diseases developed by the patient, the association of two concomitant autoimmune processes is remarkable. As well as the positivity for the auto-antibodies anti-SSA/Ro60, which have been described in the bibliography in cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

[Prognostic and monitoring biomarkers in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy]

INTRODUCTION

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is a clinical entity with significant phenotypic variability both in its onset and in its course. Therefore, it is important to have objective biomarkers with which to monitor its evolution. In this review we present clinical, neurophysiological, neuroimaging, blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers for the monitoring and prognosis of CIDP.

DEVELOPMENT

Different clinical tools have been developed and validated to monitor CIDP by assessing strength and disability. However, the best parameter for monitoring gait remains to be determined. Monitoring by neurophysiological examination is also widespread and the amplitude of the compound muscle action potential is the most commonly used. More recently, the Motor Unit Number Index sum score has been developed, which is an accurate and reproducible technique. The role of nerve ultrasonography is under development and a correlation between clinical evolution and ultrasound findings has been described. Multiple biomarkers have been described in blood and CSF, including antinodal/paranodal antibodies, neurofilament light chain, serum immunoglobulin G levels and CSF sphingomyelin levels. Genetic variants and cytokines associated with prognosis and response to treatment have also been described.

CONCLUSIONS

One of the most important challenges in the management of CIDP is the monitoring of clinical changes after treatment initiation. The combination of biomarkers that allow an accurate understanding of the disease is crucial for the optimal management of CIDP.

[Myotonic dystrophy type 1: a series of 107 patients]

INTRODUCTION

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 is the most common muscular dystrophy in adults. It is a genetic disorder of autosomal dominant inheritance and one of its most striking features is its multi-systemic involvement with a wide clinical phenotype.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Data from 107 patients with a genetically confirmed diagnosis of the disease were retrospectively analysed from the database of a national reference division for neuromuscular diseases. Demographic and clinical data were collected over a 7-year period.

RESULTS

The most frequent age of symptom onset was adulthood (66.4%). 35% showed exclusive distal weakness and a majority (63.6%) had clinical myotonia. Only 10 patients lacked neuromuscular symptoms at diagnosis and up to 9.5% were restricted to a wheelchair. The implantation of a pacemaker or cardioverter-defibrillator was conducted in 16 patients but no sudden cardiac death was detected. A venous thromboembolic disease incidence rate of 5.6 cases per 1000 patient-year was identified. More than half of the patients (54%) in the series developed respiratory failure. 13 patients died during the follow-up period, with respiratory failure being the main cause of death.

CONCLUSIONS

The follow-up and clinical management of patients with DM1 should be multidisciplinary. In our series, the main cause of morbidity and mortality was respiratory disorders, whereas the incidence of cardiac disorders was lower. In addition, there is a notable frequency of complications derived from falls, which can have serious consequences. Finally, a higher than expected incidence of thromboembolic events was identified, which deserves further study in other cohorts of patients.