In this study, the authors report on a 10-year-old girl with hemichorea after SARS-CoV-2 infection and immunostained murine brain with patient CSF to identify intrathecal antibodies. Additionally, they conducted a scoping review of children with MD and ataxia after SARS-CoV-2 infection. In particular they detected antibodies in the patient's CSF binding unknown antigens in murine basal ganglia. The child received immunosuppression and recovered completely. In a scoping review, we identified further 32 children with de novo MD or ataxia after COVID-19. While in a minority of cases, MD or ataxia were a symptom of known clinical entities (e.g. ADEM, Sydenham's chorea), in most children, the etiology was suspected to be of autoimmune origin without further assigned diagnosis. (i) Children either presented with ataxia (79%), but different from the well-known postinfectious acute cerebellar ataxia (older age, less favorable outcome, or (ii) had hypo-/hyperkinetic MD (21%), which were choreatic in most cases. Besides 14% of spontaneous recovery, immunosuppression was necessary in 79%. Approximately one third of children only partially recovered. The authors concluded that infection with SARS-CoV-2 can trigger de novo MD in children. Most patients showed COVID-19-associated-ataxia and fewer-chorea. Patients may benefit from immunosuppression, especially steroids. Despite treatment, one third of patients recovered only partially, which makes up an increasing cohort with neurological sequelae.
Wilpert NM, de Almeida Marcelino AL, Knierim E, Incoronato P, Sanchez-Sendin E, Staudacher O, Drenckhahn A, Bittigau P, Kreye J, Prüss H, Schuelke M, Kühn AA, Kaindl AM, Nikolaus M. Pediatric de novo movement disorders and ataxia in the context of SARS-CoV-2. J Neurol. 2023 Oct;270(10):4593-4607.