Objective Various neurological manifestations have been increasingly reported in coronavirus disease 2019 . We determined the neurological features and long-term sequelae in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Methods We retrospectively studied 95 consecutive hospitalized patients with COVID-19 between March 1 and May 13, 2020. Acute neurological presentations (within two weeks of the symptom onset of were compared between 60 non-severe and 35 severely infected patients who required high-flow oxygen. In the 12 ventilated patients (the most severe group), we evaluated neurological complications during admission, subacute neurological presentations, and neurological sequelae (51 and 137 days from the onset [median], respectively). Results Of the 95 patients (mean age 53 years old; 40% women), 63% had acute neurological presentations, with an increased prevalence in cases of severe infections (83% vs. 52%, p<0.001). Impaired consciousness and limb weakness were more frequent in severe patients than in non-severe ones (0% vs. 49%; p <0.001, and 0% vs. 54%; p<0.001, respectively). In the most severe group (mean age 72 years old; 42% women), 83% of patients had neurological complications (cerebrovascular disease [17%], encephalopathy [82%], and neuropathy [55%]), and 92% had subacute neurological presentations (impaired consciousness [17%], higher brain dysfunction [82%], limb weakness [75%], and tremor [58%]). Neurological sequelae were found in 83% of cases, including higher brain dysfunction (73%), limb weakness (50%), and tremor (58%). Conclusions Neurological manifestations are common in COVID-19, with the possibility of long-lasting sequelae.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients have been increasingly reported to develop various neurological manifestations. We herein present a rare case of bilateral facial nerve palsy in a patient that occurred 5 weeks after the onset of COVID-19. The patient had no motor or sensory deficits in his extremities, and there were no other diseases that may have resulted in bilateral facial palsy. Based on these findings, we concluded that the facial palsy in this case may have been triggered by COVID-19.
Background
Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD) is a devastating paraneoplastic syndrome that occasionally occurs in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). Anti-Ma2 is a well-characterized onconeuronal antibody and one of the causes of PCD. There has been only one previous report of anti-Ma2-associated paraneoplastic syndrome as a complication of HL. Here we present a rare case of anti-Ma2-associated PCD in a patient with nodular lymphocyte-predominant HL (NLPHL).
Case presentation
A 77-year-old man with a 3-month history of gait instability and a 2-month history of oscillopsia was referred to our hospital for further investigation. On examination, his cognition was normal. He had nystagmus in all directions of gaze; specifically, he had horizontal and rotatory nystagmus in the primary position, downbeat nystagmus after right, left, and up gaze, and upbeat nystagmus after down gaze. Although his limb ataxia was mild, his trunk ataxia was so pronounced that he was unable to walk without support. We strongly suspected paraneoplastic syndrome and tested for neuronal autoantibodies. The anti-Ma2 antibody was strongly positive in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid but other antineuronal autoantibodies were negative. Computed tomography showed an enlarged lymph node in the right axilla but no masses. Biopsy confirmed a diagnosis of NLPHL. The NLPHL cells stained with anti-Ma-2 antibody in the cytoplasm, suggesting these abnormal cells contained protein that was cross-reactive with Ma-2.
Conclusions
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of anti-Ma2-associated PCD in a patient with NLPHL that was confirmed using immunostaining of the lymph node tissue with anti-Ma2 antibody. Our case confirms an association between anti-Ma2-associated PCD and NLPHL.
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