Ann Clin Neurophysiol.  2022;24(2):101-106. 10.14253/acn.2022.24.2.101.

Post-infectious basal ganglia encephalitis and axonal variant of Guillain-Barré syndrome after COVID-19 infection: an atypical case report

• Yang J
• Shin DJ
• Park HM
• Lee YB
• Sung YH

• KMID: 2535728
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14253/acn.2022.24.2.101

Abstract

Neurological complications attributed to coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) infection have been reported including acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and so on. Herein, we report a 49-year-old woman presented with acute encephalopathy and paraplegia simultaneously after COVID-19 infection. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed symmetric hyperintense basal ganglia lesions on T2-weighted imaging. Cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis, motor axonal neuropathy and enhancement of conus medullaris nerve roots on spine MRI were observed. We treated her with high-dose corticosteroid and intravenous immunoglobulin.

Keyword

COVID-19; Encephalitis; Guillain-Barré syndrome

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed abnormal hyperintense signals (yellow arrows) in the bilateral basal ganglia in axial T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) (A) and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery imaging (FLAIR) (B) with no gadolinium contrast enhancement in the corresponding areas (C), and these signals disappeared with instead mild brain atrophy developed on follow-up MRI after 6 months (D).

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  Fig. 2. MRI of the conus medullaris showed thickened nerve roots (orange arrows) in axial T2WI (A) and their gadolinium contrast enhancement (B).

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