Faculty Collaboration Database

The neuropsychological profile of children with basal ganglia encephalitis: a case series. Dev Med Child Neurol 2017 Apr;59(4):445-448

Date

12/20/2016

Pubmed ID

27991656

DOI

10.1111/dmcn.13351

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85007153917 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   15 Citations

Abstract

Inflammatory basal ganglia encephalitis (BGE) is a rare but distinct entity of putative autoimmune aetiology, with specific basal ganglia inflammation and acute movement disorders. Unlike most brain injuries, BGE is a radiologically pure basal ganglia syndrome. The current study systematically describes the neuropsychological outcomes of four paediatric cases of BGE, and thus the neuropsychological outcomes of focal basal ganglia insult in childhood. Although all patients made significant motor recoveries, all four cases displayed executive dysfunction, fine motor difficulties, and anxiety. Three out of four cases displayed attention deficits. The case who received intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) treatment and steroids during the acute phase of the disease had the best cognitive outcome. These findings highlight the need for detailed neuropsychological assessment and long-term follow-up.

Author List

Pawela C, Brunsdon RK, Williams TA, Porter M, Dale RC, Mohammad SS

Author

Christopher Pawela PhD Associate Professor in the Biomedical Engineering department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Basal Ganglia Diseases
Child
Child, Preschool
Cognition Disorders
Cohort Studies
Encephalitis
Humans
Infant
Male
Neuropsychological Tests