Three Patients With Chorea and Positive Voltage-Gated Potassium Channel Antibody: Is This the Link Between Hyperkinetic von Economo Disease and COVID-19?

Chorea, hemichorea, and other movement disorders have been reported after different pandemics since Constantin von Economo's time. In the current COVID-19 pandemic, numerous delayed neurological manifestations have been reported in the postinfectious or postvaccination periods. However, very few of these are movement disorders in nature; there are even fewer voltage-gated potassium channel (VGKC) antibody-related movement disorder cases in the literature. We encountered three patients with some COVID-19-related issues featuring both chorea and VGKC antibody. Modern medical science and technology may be able to further our understanding of the molecular basis of von Economo disease and reveal a possible link to COVID-19 along with the immunomodulation aspect of its treatment.

A Sharp Rise in Autoimmune Encephalitis in the COVID-19 Era: A Case Series.

BACKGROUND: Autoimmune encephalitis was very rare prior to the current pandemic. A sharp rise in cases has been observed from March to August of 2022 in Los Angeles. Such an increase, especially with certain types of antibodies, may point toward the possibility of post-infectious autoimmune encephalitis. While review articles on autoimmune encephalitis during this pandemic have been published, a sharp rise in one geographic area within a short period of time has not been documented yet. AIMS: To report an alarming increase in autoimmune encephalitis with mostly positive glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) and/or voltage-gated potassium channel (VGKC) antibodies over six months during 2022 in Downtown Los Angeles. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This is an observational case series from one neurocritical care practice in Downtown Los Angeles. Autoimmune encephalitis antibody panels were sent to patients with altered mental status or neurologic deficits of unclear etiology from March to August of 2022. RESULTS: Of the 29 patients tested, 12 reports came back positive. Ten had positive GAD and/or VGKC antibodies, one had a positive myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody, and one had a positive leucine-rich glioma-inactivated 1 protein antibody; a 41% positive rate. CONCLUSIONS: This observation has important implications: (1) We may be entering an era of heightened autoimmune encephalitis. (2) These occurrences may be post-infectious in nature at this point of the pandemic. (3) Mostly GAD and VGKC antibodies have been identified (10 of them), which may point toward a new direction of research from a molecular mimicry standpoint. (4) To benefit patients, clinicians need to be aware of such disease manifestations and increase testing; resources must be increased to improve test availability and shorten turnaround time; and treatment, which is expansive, must be made widely available for these potentially reversible diseases.

A Patient With Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Positive Encephalitis With Ring Enhancing Lesions on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) After COVID-19 Exposure.

Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody has been associated with a wide range of neurological diseases, from neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder to acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. However, MOG positivity with isolated encephalitis has been infrequently reported. MRI findings are usually of the demyelination type. In this case, we report on a patient with COVID-19 exposure who presented with altered mental status and multiple ring-enhancing lesions on MRI mimicking metastatic disease. Due to his unusual MRI findings and presentation, the correct diagnosis was not apparent until MOG antibody results came back positive.

Another Case of Bell's Palsy Recurrence After Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccination.

Twenty-seven months into the current pandemic and 18 months after vaccinations were made available, there are still relatively limited data on the incidence of recurrent Bell's Palsy after the administration of mRNA-based vaccines. The authors continue to believe that it is through rigorous reporting that the true incidence can be tabulated eventually.

Acute Vestibular Neuritis After Pfizer Booster in a Healthcare Worker.

Numerous reports of healthy individuals falling ill after COVID-19 vaccination or booster have surfaced. Isolated vestibular dysfunction is uncommon. Such occurrence within 24 hours of booster shot in a relatively healthy highly functional colleague suggests beyond a simple temporal relationship.

Miller Fisher Syndrome in the COVID-19 Era - A Novel Target Antigen Calls for Novel Treatment.

Although Miller Fisher syndrome cases have been published in this coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, anti-GQ1b antibody has not been identified so far. A direct proof of association is not yet available since the exact pathophysiology is not known. Using a proof of contradiction argument, lack of GQ1b serves as the indirect proof that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is probably the infection preceding demyelination. A novel antigen has yet to be described.

Fatal Rhabdomyolysis in a COVID-19 Patient on Rosuvastatin.

It is well-established by now that COVID-19 can have a wide variety of neuromuscular manifestations, including rhabdomyolysis. Weakness and elevated creatinine kinase (CK) have been documented as the initial presentation of COVID-19. Myopathy from statin use has also been well-established since the introduction of this class of medication, and the common pathologic mechanism of both entities may have been mitochondrial dysfunction. We present here the case of a COVID-19 patient on rosuvastatin who developed rhabdomyolysis with CK above 1,000,000 units/L. The patient did not present with any respiratory difficulty and responded poorly to treatment, resulting in his untimely demise. COVID-19 may have accentuated an otherwise survivable condition by means of extra stress on mitochondrial homeostasis. Understanding the actual mechanism will be important in the development and utilization of medications in the fight against COVID-19.