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Neuroleptic malignant syndrome as a presenting feature of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis

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Abstract

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a slowly progressive degenerative disorder caused by measles virus. It is characterised by typical clinical and electrophysiological features in the form of slow myoclonic jerks, with progressive cognitive impairment, visual symptoms, and periodic complexes on EEG, with raised titres of anti-measles antibodies in CSF and serum. Atypical presentations of SSPE have been reported including brainstem involvement, ADEM-like presentation, acute encephalitis, and cerebellar ataxia. Presentation with predominant extrapyramidal features is uncommon. We describe a case of SSPE presenting with extensive rigidity with highly elevated CPK values, mimicking neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) which was most probably due to central dopaminergic blockade induced by the disease process. To our knowledge, this is the first case of SSPE presenting with a NMS-like syndrome.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

    Divyani Garg, Varun Reddy, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Deepa Dash, Rohit Bhatia & Manjari Tripathi

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  1. Divyani Garg
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  2. Varun Reddy
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  3. Rajesh Kumar Singh
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  4. Deepa Dash
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  5. Rohit Bhatia
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  6. Manjari Tripathi
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Correspondence to Rajesh Kumar Singh.

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Garg, D., Reddy, V., Singh, R.K. et al. Neuroleptic malignant syndrome as a presenting feature of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. J. Neurovirol. 24, 128–131 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13365-017-0602-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13365-017-0602-4

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