ABSTRACT
Here, we report a case of COVID-19-related acute necrotizing encephalopathy where SARS-CoV-2 RNA was found in CSF 19 days after symptom onset after testing negative twice. Although monocytes and protein levels in CSF were only marginally increased, and our patient never experienced a hyperinflammatory state, her neurologic function deteriorated into coma. MRI of the brain showed pathologic signal symmetrically in central thalami, subinsular regions, medial temporal lobes, and brain stem. Extremely high concentrations of the neuronal injury markers neurofilament light and tau, as well as an astrocytic activation marker, glial fibrillary acidic protein, were measured in CSF. Neuronal rescue proteins and other pathways were elevated in the in-depth proteomics analysis. The patient received IV immunoglobulins and plasma exchange. Her neurologic status improved, and she was extubated 4 weeks after symptom onset. This case report highlights the neurotropism of SARS-CoV-2 in selected patients and emphasizes the importance of repeated lumbar punctures and CSF analyses in patients with suspected COVID-19 and neurologic symptoms.
Subject(s)
Brain/diagnostic imaging , Coronavirus Infections/cerebrospinal fluid , Leukoencephalitis, Acute Hemorrhagic/cerebrospinal fluid , Pneumonia, Viral/cerebrospinal fluid , RNA, Viral/cerebrospinal fluid , Acyclovir/therapeutic use , Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use , Betacoronavirus/genetics , COVID-19 , Coronavirus Infections/diagnostic imaging , Coronavirus Infections/physiopathology , Coronavirus Infections/therapy , Female , Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein/cerebrospinal fluid , Humans , Immunoglobulins, Intravenous/therapeutic use , Immunologic Factors/therapeutic use , Interleukin-6/cerebrospinal fluid , Leukoencephalitis, Acute Hemorrhagic/diagnostic imaging , Leukoencephalitis, Acute Hemorrhagic/physiopathology , Leukoencephalitis, Acute Hemorrhagic/therapy , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Middle Aged , Neurofilament Proteins/cerebrospinal fluid , Pandemics , Plasma Exchange , Pneumonia, Viral/diagnostic imaging , Pneumonia, Viral/physiopathology , Pneumonia, Viral/therapy , Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction , SARS-CoV-2 , Tomography, X-Ray Computed , Viral Tropism , tau Proteins/cerebrospinal fluidABSTRACT
Miller-Fisher syndrome (MFS) is classified as a variant of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), accounting for 5%-25% of all GBS cases. Since the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, increasing evidence has been reported of the neurological manifestations of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, affecting both the central and peripheral nervous system. Here we report the clinical course, detailed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) profile including CSF/blood antibody status, and neurochemical characteristics of a patient with a typical clinical presentation of MFS after a positive SARS-CoV-2 infection test.