Hemichorea and myoclonus in Filipino patients with cerebral toxoplasmosis: A report of two cases

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: This paper synthesizes two unique cases of an adult Filipino patient presenting with involuntary unilateral extremity movements which upon further workup revealed cerebral toxoplasmosis as their primary etiology, further revealing their immunocompromised states. To our best knowledge there is limited available data on cerebral toxoplasmosis in our local setting. RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The Filipino population is not spared from the pervasive global upsurge of AIDS cases as well as HIV-related infections. The aim of this report is to document the clinical features and diagnostics of two patients with cerebral toxoplasmosis presenting with unilateral involuntary extremity movements to heighten the level of awareness of Filipino physicians on the need to further explore possible etiologies of common neurological signs and symptoms as well as document additional cases of HIV-related infection in our country. CASE DESCRIPTION The first case is a 30 year old male with no comorbidities who presented with fever and sudden onset of choreoathetoid movements of the left extremities. MRI revealed a rim enhancing nodule in the left supraorbital frontal lobe and in the middle cerebral peduncle. The second case is a 40 year old male, known hypertensive, initially diagnosed to have pulmonary tuberculosis, who presented with sudden onset of focal left arm myoclonic jerks. MRI revealed a rim enhancing cortical nodule on the right precentral gyrus. Both lesions were consistent with characteristics of toxoplasmosis. Both patients also showed positive serological titers for toxoplasmosis and had low CD4 T-cell count on flow cytometry. Both patients were treated with high dose trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and were further worked up for HIV-related infections. CONCLUSION: Majority of Filipino patients are still not provided with the opportunity to be diagnosed and treated for HIV-related infections, with one reason being the low index of suspicion for such cases. There is still limited amount of data available locally regarding patients presenting with Cerebral Toxoplasmosis, and that common neurological signs and symptoms as presented in this report should provide the much needed enlightenment in a physician's clinical eye to entertain such etiologies.