An Uncommon Brainstem Lesion in a Young Patient

PGY3
First Saint-Petersburg Pavlov State Medical University
Institute of Human Brain

of Russian Academy of Sciences (IHB RAS) n.a. N.P.Bechtereva
September, 8th, 2016

2016
Complaining of gait ataxia and speech difficulty.
PMH:
No previous illnesses, no

trauma
Medications – none
Allergies – none
Social History - Non-smoker, no alcohol intake, no drugs
Family History – None
Nationality – Latvian
Living with his father, studying at home

abnormalities, gait ataxia. He was transferred to the hospital
Neurological symptoms

resolved with pulse methylprednisolone.
One week later, the same symptoms recurred and did not respond to pulse steroid. Symptoms persisted.
During the hospitalization in 2010, he developed recurrent episodes of right-sided weakness lasting ~5min each time.
Over the next 3 years, he had 2 more exacerbations with gait ataxia. Methylprednisolone infusions and recurrent plasma exchanges were not effective.
In 2013 brain MRI was done.

differential diagnosis?
What investigations would you pursue?
What treatment would you

propose?

CNS
CNS infections
Lymphoma
Glioma
Paraneoplastic syndromes

Final diagnosis (2013): Cerebral vasculitis

start prophylactic therapy with prednisolone 15 mg per day x

2 months, and methotrexate 10 mg once a week.
In March 2015: new exacerbation with increase of gait ataxia. Treated with pulse Methylprednisolone X 3days and increased prednisolone 30 mg/d X 3 months, methotrexate 10 mg once a week with positive effects.
September, 2nd, 2015: started i.v. Rituximab 1000 mg
But in a week, recurrent exacerbation developed  also with further increase of gait ataxia. Treated with pulse Methylprednisolone with good effects followed by oral Prednisolone 30 mg/d x 4 months.
Each Prednisolone withdrawal led to deterioration of patient’s clinical status.

nystagmus in left gaze. Vertical nystagmus in upgaze. Left lower

facial weakness. Dysarthria (bulbar syndrome).
Normal muscle strength in limbs, neck, trunk.
Reflexes: hyperreflexic, ankle clonus.
Bilateral upping Babinski's sign.
No sensory abnormalities.
Coordination tests – bilateral mild intention tremor. Bilateral dysdiadochokinesia. Severe gait ataxia.

lymf. 29%; mon. 9%; neutr. 58%; eos. 4%;bas. 0%; SR

3 mm/h.
Biochemical BA: protein total 68 g/l; creatinine 60 mkmol/l; bilirubin total 10,1 mkmol/l; glucose 5.6 mmol/l.
Urine analysis: unit weight 1.025, protein 0 g/l; leuc. 0-0-1 in field of view; mucus +.
RW, HIV- negative.

nuclear antigens (ENA), anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA), HUVEC, aquaporin-4 antibodies

in blood - negative.
Oligoclonal IgG in serum and CSF (from the history of present illness) - negative.
Biochemical CSF test – no data

is the diagnosis, and the disease?

(CLIPPERS)

disorder, prominently involving the brainstem and in particular the pons.
The

disorder was first described in 2010 by Pittock and colleagues as a distinct form of brainstem encephalitis centred on the pons, which is characterized by a predominant T cell pathology, and responsive to immunosuppression with glucocorticosteroids (GCS)

Pittock et al (Brain. 2010;133:2626–2634)

The perivascular and T cell-predominant inflammatory cell infiltrates in affected

CNS lesions, patterns of CSF changes and typical gadolinium enhancement together with the clinico-radiological response to GCS-based immunosuppressive therapies suggest an (auto-)immune-mediated or other inflammatory pathogenesis.

Other accompanying symptoms:
dysarthria,

altered sensation and paraesthesias of the face,
dizziness, nystagmus,
spastic paraparesis,
sensory loss,
pseudobulbar affect.
CSF: mild pleocytosis, mildly elevated protein and/or (in part transient) CSF oligoclonal bands. CSF cytology is negative for malignant cells.

within at least two of the three following anatomical locations:

pons, brachium pontis, cerebellum
Individual radiological lesions are small but may coalesce to form larger lesions (mass effect may suggest an alternative diagnosis)
Enhancing lesions may occur in the spinal cord and supratentorial structures such as the thalamus, basal ganglia, capsula interna, corpus callosum and the cerebral white matter, but should be decreasing density with increasing distance from the pons.
Absence of the following radiological features:
- Restricted diffusion on diffusion weighted imaging
- Marked hyperintensity on T2-weighted images
- Abnormal cerebral angiography

(GCS)-based immunosuppression.
However, the patients routinely worsened following GCS taper and

required chronic GCS or other immunosuppressive treatment as maintenance therapy.

without parenchymal extension
Infiltrate contains predominantly CD3 and CD4 lymphocytes
Absence of

the following histopathological characteristics:
- Monoclonal or atypical lymphocyte population
- Necrotizing granulomas or giant cells
- Histological features of vasculitis

Sjögren's syndrome, neuro-Behçet's disease, MS, ADEM, NMO, Bickerstaff encephalitis, other

autoimmune encephalitides, CNS vasculitis, primary angiitis of CNS, CNS infections, histiocytosis, lymphoma, glioma, paraneoplastic syndromes

or during follow-up.
Unusual clinical findings such as fever, extracerebral

organ manifestations (such as arthritis, uveitis, lymphadenopathy, etc.) and meningism should lead to increased alertness.
Dysarthria and ataxia are so common in CLIPPERS that their absence should be considered a hint that the disorder might be something else
MRI findings: although they may be subtle, abnormalities of brainstem are so common in CLIPPERS that their absence is worth noting. Pontine lesions with necrosis may point to a PCNSL and marked mass effects to CNS tumours in general
CSF findings: marked pleocytosis (> 100/μl) or malignant cells should prompt reevaluation of the diagnosis

1.5T–3.0T MRI only depicts the most severely affected brain regions.

Ultra-high-field MRI at 7.0T improved the detection of both vascular abnormalities and structural CNS damage.

damage and also indicates intralesional vascular structures, most likely small

veins, filled with paramagnetic deoxyhemoglobin.

prominent CD3 and CD4 T-cell infiltration in the brainstem (D)

and cerebellum (N) but also in insular cortex (S) and parietal cortex (I). The magnitude of infiltration shows a gradient with less infiltration with greater distance from the brainstem.
H & E staining reveals inflammation also in cranial nerve roots from the brainstem (V and W).
No evidence of lymphoma and prelymphoma state.

short course of high-dose intravenous methylprednisolone, followed by oral GCS.

Attempts to withdraw or taper GCS below a particular lower dose limit (10-20 mg) usually provoke the recurrence of inflammation, accompanied by a relapse of clinical symptoms as well as MRI activity signs.
Immunosuppressive therapy usually consists of an oral GCS combined with a GCS-sparing immunosuppressant.
The most of immunosuppressive agents, given alone without sustained GCS therapy, are obviously not capable of maintaining remission and therefore cannot replace GCS completely.
After complete GCS withdrawal, only methotrexate and potentially rituximab were described to be effective in a few patients.

at the first stages of the disease, when, like in

our clinical case, Methylprednisolone infusions and recurrent plasma exchanges were at first effective, and then not for some period.
Also, recurrent episodes of weakness in the right limbs are not so common in CLIPPERS. Extensive investigations are mandatory to exclude alternative conditions that may mimic CLIPPERS syndrome, such as multiple sclerosis, sarcoidosis, glioma, lymphoma, etc.

features: Progressive gait ataxia and diplopia, dysarthria, dizziness, nystagmus
Radiological features:

Numerous punctate enhancing lesions in pons, brachium pontis, cerebellum, also enhancing lesions occurred in the thalamus, capsula interna, corpus callosum and the cerebral white matter. Some of the lesions coalesce to form larger lesions. No mass effect.
Glucocorticosteroid responsiveness: Clinical responsiveness to glucocorticosteroid (GCS)-based immunosuppression. Each Prednisolone withdrawal lead to deterioration of patient’s state.
Other conditions such as neurosarcoidosis, MS, ADEM, NMO, CNS vasculitis, CNS infections, lymphoma, glioma, paraneoplastic syndromes were excluded.

of alternative diagnoses. A specific serum or CSF biomarker for

the disorder is currently not known. Pathogenesis of CLIPPERS remains poorly understood, and the nosological position of CLIPPERS has still to be established. Whether CLIPPERS represents an independent, actual new disorder or a syndrome that includes aetiologically heterogeneous diseases and/or their prestages remains a debated and not finally clarified issue.

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