A short review on the clinical presentation of pediatrics cases of Bickerstaff brain encephalitis emphasizing the broad clinical spectrum of the disease. Cases of pediatric Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis collected on three electronic medical databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library and Scopus Web of Science) are reviewed. The inclusion criteria of the cases were based on the clinical characteristics of the disorder in the pediatric age. We reviewed 20 articles on Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis, identifying 40 pediatric cases focused on the clinical symptoms. We saw that the prevalence was higher in male subjects, and the median age at diagnosis was 8 years. The phenotype of pediatrics patients was similar to previously published literature. We identify three cases of overlapping forms between Bickerstaff brain encephalitis and Guillain-Barré Syndrome in patients with lower limbs weakness and typical signs of Bickerstaff brain encephalitis, suggesting a combined involvement of the central and peripheral nervous system. Although there is no defined data on incidence and prevalence in the literature, Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis appears to be a rare disorder, especially in children. The incidence of Bickerstaff brain encephalitis and Guillain-Barré Syndrome, and Miller Fisher Syndrome has been underrated in the past, primarily due to an underestimation of the forms with a Peripheral Nervous System involvement. Bickerstaff brain encephalitis usually has a rapid and acute onset within 2-4 weeks, characterized by a typical picture of ophthalmoplegia, hyperreflexia, cerebellar symptoms as ataxia. The subsequent manifestations of hyperreflexia or consciousness disturbances as drowsiness, sleepiness, or coma, indicative of central involvement, suggest a Bickerstaff brain encephalitis clinical diagnosis.

Pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS) is a condition characterized by the abrupt, dramatic onset of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) or eating restriction accompanied by equally abrupt and severe comorbid neuropsychiatric symptoms. PANDAS (pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with streptococcal infection) is a heterogeneous syndrome identified as post-Streptococcus pyogenes infection (β-hemolytic Streptococcus group A) complications regarding the central nervous system with specific involvement of neuropsychiatric and behavioral skills. In the first part of our study, we share our experience in the treatment of a group of extreme-grade (according to CY-BOCS severity scale) symptomatic patients with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), following the most recent studies regarding the dosage of the drug. Our contribution is to share our experience made on a sample of 55 patients all in the highest level of a severity grade. In the second part of our study, we also analyze the literature on PANS/PANDAS rehabilitation therapy, since in the literature there is no discussion of union and comparison on this method. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the clinical features of the patients observed from different Italian cohorts, with the attempt at evaluating clinical response to IVIG treatment in children with an extreme severity grade of PANS/PANDAS disease. Furthermore, after having analyzed the literature, we propose rehabilitation therapy as an added value to the pharmacological treatment. Materials and Methods: A total of 55 patients with a diagnosis of PANS/PANDAS, who belonged to an extreme grade of disease, were enrolled. All patients were administered with IVIG treatment at 2 g/kg per day for two consecutive days. Results: From our study, a noticeable improvement (until complete remission) of symptoms was evident for at least one year in 47 out of 55 (85%) observed children, while 11 out of these 43 (25%) showed an evident symptoms remission in a single attempt and the remaining 32 (75%) required a second administration to notice a lasting symptomatic improvement.

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CDKL5 is a gene located in the X-chromosome (Xp22) encoding a serine/threonine kinase involved in various signaling pathways, implicated in cell proliferation, axon development, dendrite growth, synapse formation, and maintenance. Mutations occurring in this gene have been associated with drug-resistant early-onset epilepsy, with multiple seizures type, and deep cognitive and motor development delay with poor or absent speech, ataxic gait or inability to walk, hand stereotypies and in a few cases decrement of head growth. Many aspects remain unclear about the CDKL5 deficiency disorders, research will be fundamental to better understand the pathogenesis of neurological damage and consequently developed more targeted and profitable therapies, as there is not, at the present, a gene-based treatment and the seizures are in most of the cases drug resistant. In this article, we summarize the actual knowledge about CDKL5 gene function and mostly the consequence given by its dysfunction, also examining the possible therapeutic approaches.

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