[Skip to Content]
[Skip to Content Landing]

A Woman With Eosinophilic Brainstem Meningoencephalitis

Educational Objective
Based on this clinical scenario and the accompanying image, understand how to arrive at a correct diagnosis.
1 Credit CME

A previously healthy 25-year-old woman presented with headache, dysarthria, double vision, and dizziness for 1 week. She denied any history of fever, head trauma, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, or cough. She had traveled to northeastern Brazil 2 months before the onset of the neurological symptoms.

On examination, she had a mild right-side hemiparesis with hyperreflexia and hemiataxia. She could walk unassisted but presented with a broad base. There were no meningeal signs. She did not present with hepatosplenomegaly of lymphadenopathy. Her cranial magnetic resonance imaging showed a T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery hyperintense lesion with heterogeneous gadolinium enhancement in the pons (Figure). There were no signs of diffusion restriction on diffusion-weighted imaging or hemorrhages on susceptibility-weighted imaging.

Please finish quiz first before checking answer.

You answered correctly!

Read the answer below and download your certificate.

You answered incorrectly.

Read the discussion below and retake the quiz.

A previously healthy 25-year-old woman presented with headache, dysarthria, double vision, and dizziness for 1 week. She denied any history of fever, head trauma, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, or cough. She had traveled to northeastern Brazil 2 months before the onset of the neurological symptoms.

On examination, she had a mild right-side hemiparesis with hyperreflexia and hemiataxia. She could walk unassisted but presented with a broad base. There were no meningeal signs. She did not present with hepatosplenomegaly of lymphadenopathy. Her cranial magnetic resonance imaging showed a T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery hyperintense lesion with heterogeneous gadolinium enhancement in the pons (Figure). There were no signs of diffusion restriction on diffusion-weighted imaging or hemorrhages on susceptibility-weighted imaging.

Survey Complete!

Sign in to take quiz and track your certificates

Buy This Activity

JN Learning™ is the home for CME and MOC from the JAMA Network. Search by specialty or US state and earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ from articles, audio, Clinical Challenges and more. Learn more about CME/MOC

CME Disclosure Statement: Unless noted, all individuals in control of content reported no relevant financial relationships. If applicable, all relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.

Article Information

Corresponding Author: Lucas Fernandes Ferreira, Department of Neurology, Hospital das Clinicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Sao Paulo, Dr Eneas de Carvalho de Aguiar St 255, Sao Paulo, SP, 05403-000, Brazil (lucasfernandes150@gmail.com).

Published Online: January 10, 2022. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2021.4861

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.

Additional Contributions: We thank the patient’s sister for granting permission to publish this information.

References
1.
Moragas  M , Martínez-Yélamos  S , Majós  C , Fernández-Viladrich  P , Rubio  F , Arbizu  T .  Rhombencephalitis: a series of 97 patients.   Medicine (Baltimore). 2011;90(4):256-261. doi:10.1097/MD.0b013e318224b5afPubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
2.
Shih  RY , Koeller  KK .  Bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections of the central nervous system: radiologic-pathologic correlation and historical perspectives: from the radiologic pathology archives.   Radiographics. 2015;35(4):1141-1169. doi:10.1148/rg.2015140317PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
3.
Saleem  S , Belal  AI , El-Ghandour  NM .  Spinal cord schistosomiasis: MR imaging appearance with surgical and pathologic correlation.   AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2005;26(7):1646-1654.PubMedGoogle Scholar
4.
Lo Re  V  III , Gluckman  SJ .  Eosinophilic meningitis.   Am J Med. 2003;114(3):217-223. doi:10.1016/S0002-9343(02)01495-XPubMedGoogle Scholar
5.
Sawanyawisuth  K , Chotmongkol  V .  Eosinophilic meningitis.   Handb Clin Neurol. 2013;114:207-215. doi:10.1016/B978-0-444-53490-3.00015-7PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
6.
Ferrari  TCA , Moreira  PRR .  Neuroschistosomiasis: clinical symptoms and pathogenesis.   Lancet Neurol. 2011;10(9):853-864. doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(11)70170-3PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
7.
Lindholz  CG , Favero  V , Veríssimo  CM ,  et al.  Study of diagnostic accuracy of Helmintex, Kato-Katz, and POC-CCA methods for diagnosing intestinal schistosomiasis in Candeal, a low intensity transmission area in northeastern Brazil.   PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2018;12(3):e0006274. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0006274PubMedGoogle Scholar
8.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC).  Acute schistosomiasis with transverse myelitis in American students returning from Kenya.   MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1984;33(31):445-447.PubMedGoogle Scholar
9.
Bruscky  IS , Bruscky  DMV , Melo  FL , Medeiros  ZM , Correia  CDC .  Cerebral mansoni schistosomiasis: a systematic review of 33 cases published from 1989 to 2019.   Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. Published online May 26, 2021. doi:10.1093/trstmh/trab067Google Scholar
10.
Gray  DJ , Ross  AG , Li  YS , McManus  DP .  Diagnosis and management of schistosomiasis.   BMJ. 2011;342:d2651. doi:10.1136/bmj.d2651PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
AMA CME Accreditation Information

Credit Designation Statement: The American Medical Association designates this Journal-based CME activity activity for a maximum of 1.00  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to:

  • 1.00 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;;
  • 1.00 Self-Assessment points in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s (ABOHNS) Continuing Certification program;
  • 1.00 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;
  • 1.00 Lifelong Learning points in the American Board of Pathology’s (ABPath) Continuing Certification program; and
  • 1.00 credit toward the CME [and Self-Assessment requirements] of the American Board of Surgery’s Continuous Certification program

It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting MOC credit.

Close
Want full access to the AMA Ed Hub?
After you sign up for AMA Membership, make sure you sign in or create a Physician account with the AMA in order to access all learning activities on the AMA Ed Hub
Buy this activity
Close
Want full access to the AMA Ed Hub?
After you sign up for AMA Membership, make sure you sign in or create a Physician account with the AMA in order to access all learning activities on the AMA Ed Hub
Buy this activity
Close
With a personal account, you can:
  • Access free activities and track your credits
  • Personalize content alerts
  • Customize your interests
  • Fully personalize your learning experience
Education Center Collection Sign In Modal Right
Close

Name Your Search

Save Search
With a personal account, you can:
  • Access free activities and track your credits
  • Personalize content alerts
  • Customize your interests
  • Fully personalize your learning experience
Close
Close

Lookup An Activity

or

My Saved Searches

You currently have no searches saved.

Close

My Saved Courses

You currently have no courses saved.

Close