Encephalitis Lethargica With Catatonia

ABSTRACT

Encephalitis lethargica (EL) is an acute or subacute central nervous system (CNS) infectious disorder presenting with pharyngitis followed by sleep disorder, basal ganglia signs (particularly parkinsonism), and neuropsychiatric sequelae. We report a 67-year-old man who had hypersomnolence, oculogyric crisis, akinetic mutism, parkinsonism, and malignant catatonia, which represented the stereotypic movement disorder with additional features of hyperthermia. His symptoms dramatically improved after steroid pulse therapy, indicating that EL syndrome could be a postinfectious neurological autoimmune CNS disorder.