Myoclonic Jerks, Exposure to Many Cats, and Neurotoxoplasmosis in an Immunocompetent Male

Antonio Jose Reyes; Kanterpersad Ramcharan; Stanley Lawrence Giddings; Samuel Aboh; Fidel Rampersad

doi:10.7916/D8B86GQC

Myoclonic Jerks, Exposure to Many Cats, and Neurotoxoplasmosis in an Immunocompetent Male

Tremor Other Hyperkinet Mov (N Y). 2018 Jan 5:8:511. doi: 10.7916/D8B86GQC. eCollection 2018.

Authors

Antonio Jose Reyes^{1

2}, Kanterpersad Ramcharan¹, Stanley Lawrence Giddings², Samuel Aboh², Fidel Rampersad³

Affiliations

¹ Neurology Unit, San Fernando Teaching Hospital, University of the West Indies, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago.
² Infectious Disease Unit, San Fernando Teaching Hospital, University of the West Indies, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago.
³ Radiology Department, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.

Abstract

Background: Myoclonic jerks are due to sudden, brief, involuntary muscle contractions, positive myoclonus, or brief cessation of ongoing muscular activity, negative myoclonus, and may be difficult to recognize.

Case report: We describe an immunocompetent, adult, male patient with sleep-related, multifocal, myoclonic jerks and neurotoxoplasmosis with abnormal cerebrospinal fluid but normal brain imaging. There was complete resolution of the myoclonus with antitoxoplasmosis therapy after 1 week, and no relapse after 1 year.

Discussion: Neurotoxoplasmosis may be subtle in presentation, difficult to diagnose, and more common than realized, and it is being increasingly implicated in epileptogenesis in humans.

Keywords: Myoclonus; epilepsy; movement disorder; toxoplasmosis.

Publication types

Case Reports
Video-Audio Media

MeSH terms

Adult
Animals
Cats
Environmental Exposure
Humans
Male
Myoclonus / diagnosis*
Myoclonus / drug therapy
Toxoplasmosis, Cerebral / diagnosis*
Toxoplasmosis, Cerebral / drug therapy