Downbeat Nystagmus in a 7-Year-Old Girl With Epstein-Barr Virus-Associated Meningitis and Cerebellitis

Cameron Alexander Wade; David Neil Toupin; Kyle Darpel; Kimberly Jones; Donita Lightner

doi:10.1177/2329048X211000463

Downbeat Nystagmus in a 7-Year-Old Girl With Epstein-Barr Virus-Associated Meningitis and Cerebellitis

Child Neurol Open. 2021 Mar 15:8:2329048X211000463. doi: 10.1177/2329048X211000463. eCollection 2021 Jan-Dec.

Authors

Cameron Alexander Wade¹, David Neil Toupin², Kyle Darpel³, Kimberly Jones², Donita Lightner⁴

Affiliations

¹ University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA.
² Department of Child Neurology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
³ Department of Neurology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
⁴ Department of Child Neurology and Pediatric Oncology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.

Abstract

Downbeat nystagmus is a type of jerk nystagmus that may be seen in patients with lesions affecting the vestibulocerebellum. This is a case of a 7-year-old girl presenting with a history of fever, headache, and episodic vertigo with downbeat nystagmus. The diagnosis of Epstein-Barr virus meningitis with acute cerebellitis was made by contrast magnetic resonance imaging, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, and serum Epstein-Barr virus titers. Contrast magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated enhancement of the meninges and inferior cerebellar folia, correlating with the neuroophthalmological symptom of downbeat nystagmus.

Keywords: MRI; cerebellum; children; encephalitis; meningitis; neuroimaging; pediatric.

Publication types

Case Reports