1/6. herpes zoster myelitis occurring during treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus.A 15-year-old girl with systemic lupus erythematosus suddenly developed fever, meningismus, and herpes zoster. Within 48 hours, transverse myelitis developed at the level of the nerve root involvement of the herpes zoster. Since both systemic lupus erythematosus and varicella-zoster have been reported to cause myelitis, therapy was initiated for both. The rapid and simultaneous resolution of both the herpes zoster and the neurologic deficits strongly supports the causal association of both with varicella-zoster. This is the second reported case of herpes zoster-associated transverse myelitis in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = varicella (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/6. Postvaricella acute transverse myelitis: A case presentation and review of the literature.Although the complications and sequelae of varicella are rare, they can cause significant mortality and morbidity in both the normal and compromised patient. Eight cases of "pure" acute transverse myelitis (ATM) following varicella have previously been reported in the literature. We report the ninth case of postvaricella ATM in a 9-year-old girl. Her course was characterized by paraplegia, sensory loss, hyperesthesia, and incontinence of urine and feces. All patients, except ours, recovered fully from ATM.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3.5keywords = varicella (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/6. Detection of varicella-zoster virus dna using the polymerase chain reaction in an immunocompromised patient with transverse myelitis secondary to herpes zoster.A case of herpes zoster transverse myelitis is described in which the clinical diagnosis was confirmed by demonstrating the presence of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) dna in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by amplification using the polymerase chain reaction. This case illustrates the potential role of the selective amplification of VZV dna from CSF in contributing to the diagnosis of neurological complications associated with VZV infection.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2.5keywords = varicella (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/6. Neurological complications of varicella: a report of two cases.Varicella (chickenpox) is the primary infection of Varicella-Zoster virus, characterized by generalized vesicular eruption, fever and mild constitutional symptoms. Chiefly infecting children of 1 to 14 years of age, the disease has been almost neglected because of its inevitable and benign outcome. Adults are rarely infected with an incidence of less than 20%. These two cases are presented of normal adults with marked neurological complications 10 and 14 days, respectively, following typical skin eruption of varicella. The first case developed transverse myelitis and the second, an encephalomyelitis. Neurological complications are very rare post-varicella infection. Although prognosis is good and complete recovery is the rule, still some morbidity with neurological sequelae and mortality have been reported. The present cases had extensive neurological deficit, despite aggressive treatment, making a high index of suspicion for differential diagnosis in patients who present with encephalitis. Especially following the typical exanthema of varicella, this possibility is emphasized and the literature is reviewed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3.5keywords = varicella (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/6. myasthenia gravis, acute transverse myelitis, and HTLV-I.We present the unusual case of a 49-year-old female carrier of HTLV-I with myasthenia gravis who presented with acute transverse myelitis. Laboratory data suggested a recent infection with varicella zoster virus and demyelination by an autoimmune process in the central nervous system. adult T-cell leukemia-like cells were observed in the cerebrospinal fluid. T-cell-mediated immune responses modulated by HTLV-I infection may be involved in the pathogenesis of myasthenia gravis and acute transverse myelitis in this case.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = varicella (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/6. Chronic varicella-zoster virus myelitis without cutaneous eruption in a patient with AIDS: report of a fatal case.We describe a fatal case of varicella-zoster virus myelitis that was preceded by neurological symptoms for 10 months in a patient with human immunodeficiency virus infection and an extremely low CD4 cell count (20/microL). The patient was also receiving chronic acylovir therapy for suppression of herpes complex. Despite chronic unilateral periauricular and facial pain, which was later accompanied by upper- and lower-extremity weakness, a cutaneous eruption never developed. It is hypothesized that a blunted inflammatory response in the spinal cord--possibly related to a very low CD4 cell count--and long-term acylovir administration might have contributed to the atypical manifestation might have contributed to the atypical manifestation of varicella-zoster virus-related neurological disease in this immunocompromised patient.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3keywords = varicella (Clic here for more details about this article) |