transverse myelitis in children

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Dengue, chikungunya and zika have caused significant epidemics in the Caribbean in recent years. This review highlights their impact in Caribbean children. RECENT FINDINGS: Dengue has been increasingly intense and severe, seroprevalence is 80-100% in the Caribbean, children have increased attributable morbidity and mortality. Severe dengue, especially dengue with haemorrhage was significantly associated with haemoglobin SC disease and multiple organ-systems involved...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) is increasingly recognized in children. Some children have isolated disease while others relapse. The study evaluates clinical, demographic and imaging features children with positive anti-MOG antibodies comparing to previously reported findings and correlate patterns on MR imaging with a relapsing course in MOGAD. MATERIAL AND METHODS: All pediatrics patients with serum anti-MOG antibodies were reviewed...

INTRODUCTION: Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance continues globally as part of the World Health Organization's goal to eradicate poliomyelitis. The Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit (APSU), Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance (PAEDS) network, and National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory (NERL) collaborate in acute flaccid paralysis surveillance in Australia, capturing and reviewing cases of AFP for all etiologies in order to exclude poliovirus. . We aimed to describe the AFP epidemiology in childhood over an eleven year period...

IMPORTANCE: In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, neurologic involvement was common in children and adolescents hospitalized in the United States for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-related complications. OBJECTIVE: To provide an update on the spectrum of SARS-CoV-2-related neurologic involvement among children and adolescents in 2021. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Case series investigation of patients reported to public health surveillance hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2-related illness between December 15, 2020, and December 31, 2021, in 55 US hospitals in 31 states with follow-up at hospital discharge...

Schistosomiasis is an endemic parasitic disease in several tropical countries. In Brazil, the only prevalent species of parasite responsible for schistosomiasis is Schistosoma mansoni. Neuroschistosomiasis is the second most frequent form of infection and the primary ectopic manifestation, with predominant involvement of the lower thoracic spinal cord and lumbar and lumbosacral regions. The frequent contact of children with contaminated ponds and the immaturity of their immune systems make this age group especially susceptible to infection by this parasite...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The spectrum of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody-associated disorder (MOGAD) comprises monophasic diseases such as acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), optic neuritis (ON), and transverse myelitis and relapsing courses of these presentations. Persistently high MOG antibodies (MOG immunoglobulin G [IgG]) are found in patients with a relapsing disease course. Prognostic factors to determine the clinical course of children with a first MOGAD are still lacking...

BACKGROUND: Transverse myelitis (TM) is a very uncommon condition in children which can be associated with viral infections. Acute TM cases have been reported after Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection during the pandemic. CASE REPORT: We report a child with TM related to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, who was successfully treated with therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE). Inability to walk and urinary retention were the central nervous system symptom...

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological data on the pediatric acquired demyelinating syndromes (PADS) in the Philippines has not been described previously in the literature. There may be geographic differences in frequencies of PADS where true disease burden is not known or underestimated in resource-limited settings due to lack of case recognition and/or diagnostic facilities. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequencies and clinical characteristics of the different subtypes of PADS at our institution and compare these with those in published literature...

BACKGROUND: Transverse myelitis (TM) occurs isolated or within other acquired demyelinating syndromes (ADS) such as neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD), multiple sclerosis (MS) or myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody associated disorders (MOGAD). OBJECTIVE: To describe and compare clinical and MRI features of children with ADS presenting with TM grouped according to antibody status and diagnosis of MS and NMOSD. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Children with TM, radiological involvement of the myelon, MOG and aquaporin-4 antibody status were elegible...

OBJECTIVES: Behçet's disease (BD) is a vasculitis characterised by eye, musculoskeletal, neurological and gastrointestinal involvement, in addition to recurrent oral ulcers. Neuro-Behçet is the term used to define the nervous system involvement in BD and is very rarely seen in childhood. This study aims to show that neuro-Behçet can manifest a clinical course involving all kinds of neurologic findings in the paediatric population. METHODS: The Clinic of Paediatric Neurology at Uludag University provides tertiary treatment for children up to eighteen years of age in Bursa, Turkey...

Longitudinal extensive transverse myelitis (LETM) is a rare form of widespread inflammation of the spinal cord causing T2 hyperintensity in spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) extending across three or more vertebral segments. It is an acute onset of sensory, motor, and autonomic dysfunction of variable etiology with a likely poor outcome. We present a case series of three cases wherein children between the ages of 4 and 13 years had diverse symptoms from gradual painless loss of vision in both eyes with headache, vomiting and seizure, and a normal central nervous system examination except involvement of the optic nerve to another child with abdominal pain, urinary retention and constipation for 3 days with exaggerated DTR, and patchy sensory loss without any definite sensory level, and to the third child with fever and weakness of lower limbs, hypotonia and grade 1-2/5 power in lower limbs and normal upper limb power...

MOGAD-transverse myelitis is a rare disorder in children and adults, but with a higher incidence in pediatric patients. We report a case of MOGAD-transverse myelitis in a boy who was admitted to hospital with bilateral motor deficit of the lower limbs associated with the impossibility of defecating and urinating. The symptoms progressively developed with severe fatigue within the week prior to admission, with the impossibility to stand occurring 36 h before admission. The anamnesis found that he was vaccinated for COVID-19 approximately 6 weeks before admission to our clinic...

The retina and the optic nerve are considered extensions of the central nervous system (CNS) and thus can serve as the window for evaluation of CNS disorders. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) allows for detailed evaluation of the retina and the optic nerve. OCT can non-invasively document changes in single retina layer thickness and structure due to neuronal and retinal glial cells (RGC) modifications in systemic and local inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. These can include evaluation of retinal nerve fibre layer and ganglion cell complex, hyper-reflective retinal spots (HRS, sign of activated microglial cells in the retina), subfoveal neuroretinal detachment, disorganization of the inner retinal layers (DRIL), thickness and integrity of the outer retinal layers and choroidal thickness...

Children and adolescents with movement challenges have lower instances of physical activity and longer time spent in sedentary behaviors compared to children with typical development. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of a sport-based youth development running program modified for accessibility using a running frame and to evaluate initial evidence for its efficacy on endurance and functional strength. We completed four 8-week seasons (2-3 times per week) in a combination of 3 different formats by season: online remote (winter and spring), in person in a community park (winter, spring, and summer), and in person in an afterschool setting (autumn)...

Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD) is a central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory demyelinating disease characterized by recurrent inflammatory events that primarily involve optic nerves and the spinal cord, but also affect other regions of the CNS, including hypothalamus, area postrema and periaqueductal gray matter. The aquaporin-4 antibody (AQP4-IgG) is specific for NMOSD. Recently, myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies (MOG-IgG) have been found in a group of AQP4-IgG negative patients...

Importance: Longer-term outcomes and risk factors associated with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) are not well established. Objective: To investigate longer-term risk of relapse and factors associated with this risk among patients with MOGAD. Design, Setting, and Participants: This large, single-nation, prospective cohort study was conducted among 276 patients with MOGAD at 5 health care centers in the UK...

Background Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is an inflammatory, demyelinating syndrome of the central nervous system (CNS) which affects the spinal cord and optic nerves. The aim of our study was to evaluate the clinical appearance of multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disease in young children in our community Materials and methods This cross-sectional study was done in the neurology departments of the Combined Military Hospital & Pak Emirates Military Hospital Rawalpindi for six months from April 2020 to September 2020...

BACKGROUND: Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disease (NMOSD) is a rare autoimmune disease, which can coexist with autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDS). There has been no report on the clinical characteristics of NMOSD in children with positive anti-thyroid antibodies (ATAbs). The aim of this study is to evaluate thyroid function and detect the difference between ATAbs seropositive and seronegative NMOSD children. METHODS: 108 children with a confirmed diagnosis of NMOSD who were admitted to Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University from January 2015 to September 2020 were enrolled and their thyroid functions were evaluated...

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by SARS-CoV-2, has affected over 200 million people globally (including over 30 million people in the United States), with children comprising 12.9% of reported cases in the United States. In children, COVID-19 infection appears to be associated with mild respiratory symptoms; however, serious neurological complications may occur in conjunction with multisystem inflammatory syndrome. A wide spectrum of neurological diseases have been observed in children with COVID-19 infection including encephalitis, acute necrotizing encephalopathy, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, cytotoxic lesion of the callosal splenium, posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome, venous sinus thrombosis, vasculitis and infarction, Guillain-Barré syndrome, transverse myelitis, and myositis...

Neuroborreliosis is the second most frequent presentation of Lyme disease in children. Isolated facial palsy is the most classical manifestation of neuroborreliosis, but another clinical picture can be found in children: subacute meningitis, radiculoneuritis, or rarely severe neurological manifestations (transverse myelitis, encephalitis). Diagnosis and treatment guidelines of neuroborreliosis in children will be reviewed here. They are frequently discussed, especially concerning the need for lumbar puncture for diagnosis, and the choice of antibiotic regimen and administration route...