Cerebral ischemic involvement in Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease

Abstract

Background: Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease is an autoimmune disorder characterized by ocular, auditory and neurological manifestations (headache, meningismus and/or aspeptic meningoencephalitis).

Patient: We describe a 12-year-old African boy with bilateral uveitis who presented with acute unilateral hearing loss and neurological symptoms such as left-sided dyskinesias, unsteady gait and throbbing headache. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed ischemic lesions of the right basal ganglia in the territory of lenticulostriate and thalamic arteries. He improved after treatment with intravenous and oral steroids.

Conclusion: Cerebral ischemic episodes should be included in the possible neurological manifestations of VKH.

Keywords: Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease; autoimmune; children; neurological manifestations; panuveitis.