CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2018; 76(06): 426
DOI: 10.1590/0004-282X20180047
IMAGES IN NEUROLOGY

Opisthotonus (arc de cercle) in anti-NMDAR encephalitis

Opistótono (arc de cercle) em um caso de encefalite anti-NMDAR
Guillermo Delgado-García
1   Subdirección de Neurología, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía, Ciudad de México, México;
,
Vanessa Cano-Nigenda
1   Subdirección de Neurología, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía, Ciudad de México, México;
,
Arturo Abundes-Corona
1   Subdirección de Neurología, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía, Ciudad de México, México;
,
Karina Carrillo-Loza
1   Subdirección de Neurología, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía, Ciudad de México, México;
2   Clínica de Enfermedades Desmielinizantes, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía, Ciudad de México, México.
,
Juan Calleja-Castillo
1   Subdirección de Neurología, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía, Ciudad de México, México;
,
José Flores-Rivera
1   Subdirección de Neurología, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía, Ciudad de México, México;
2   Clínica de Enfermedades Desmielinizantes, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía, Ciudad de México, México.
› Author Affiliations
 

A 21-year-old man presented with focal-onset seizures with evolution to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures, fever, and encephalopathy. In our hospital, he was diagnosed with anti-NMDAR encephalitis; this antibody was found to be positive in both serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CBA, IIFT, EUROIMMUN AG, Luebeck, Germany). Other causes of encephalitis were rationally excluded. During his hospital stay, he developed symptoms and signs compatible with catatonia. He was treated with high-dose methylprednisolone pulse therapy and therapeutic plasma exchange. Although he comparatively improved, days after finishing his fifth session of therapeutic plasma exchange, he developed a brief episode of opisthotonus (arc de cercle) ([Figure]), which resolved without any treatment. He had never had similar episodes in the past. This movement disorder is infrequently seen in contemporary clinical practice. In the 19th century, hysteria was one of the major differential diagnoses of episodic opisthotonus.[1]

Zoom Image
Figure Episodic opisthotonus (arc de cercle) in anti-NMDAR encephalitis. The patient presented with a severe hyperextension of the neck and back, which led him to an “arching” position. This episode lasted a few seconds and resolved without treatment.

#

Conflict of interest:

There is no conflict of interest to declare.

  • References

  • 1 Bogousslavsky J, ed. Hysteria: the rise of an enigma. Basel: Karger; 2014.

Address for correspondence

Guillermo Delgado-García
Subdirección de Neurología, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía; Av. Insurgentes Sur #3877, Col. La Fama, Deleg. Tlalpan, C.P. 14269, Ciudad de México
México   

Publication History

Received: 02 January 2018

Accepted: 17 March 2018

Article published online:
25 August 2023

© 2023. Academia Brasileira de Neurologia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commecial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda.
Rua do Matoso 170, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 20270-135, Brazil

  • References

  • 1 Bogousslavsky J, ed. Hysteria: the rise of an enigma. Basel: Karger; 2014.

Zoom Image
Figure Episodic opisthotonus (arc de cercle) in anti-NMDAR encephalitis. The patient presented with a severe hyperextension of the neck and back, which led him to an “arching” position. This episode lasted a few seconds and resolved without treatment.