Dengue is the commonest arboviral illness caused by four antigenically distinct dengue virus serotypes (DEN-1 through DEN-4). The clinical spectrum of the disease ranges from asymptomatic or mild infection to catastrophic dengue shock syndrome (DSS). In last few years, neurological manifestations of dengue infection have been increasingly observed and reported mainly with serotypes DEN-2 and DEN-3. The pathogenesis of neurological manifestations includes: neurotrophic effect of the dengue virus, related to the systemic effects of dengue infection, and immune mediated. Encephalopathy and encephalitis are the most frequently reported neurological manifestations followed by meningitis, myositis, hypokalemic periodic paralysis, stroke, Guillain-Barré syndrome and transverse myelitis. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) associated with dengue infection is rarely reported. We herein report a case of ADEM associated with classic dengue fever. Favourable clinical outcome occurred after a five-day course of intravenous methylprednisolone therapy.
Keywords: Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis; Arbovirus; Dengue; Encephalitis; Encephalopathy; Guillain–Barré syndrome.
© 2013.