Articles

Myoclonic Jerks, Exposure to Many Cats, and Neurotoxoplasmosis in an Immunocompetent Male

Reyes, Antonio Jose; Ramcharan, Kanterpersad; Giddings, Stanley Lawrence; Aboh, Samuel; Rampersad, Fidel

Background: Myoclonic jerks are due to sudden, brief, involuntary muscle contractions, positive myoclonus, or brief cessation of ongoing muscular activity, negative myoclonus, and may be difficult to recognize.

Case Report: We describe an immunocompetent, adult, male patient with sleep-related, multifocal, myoclonic jerks and neurotoxoplasmosis with abnormal cerebrospinal fluid but normal brain imaging. There was complete resolution of the myoclonus with antitoxoplasmosis therapy after 1 week, and no relapse after 1 year.

Discussion: Neurotoxoplasmosis may be subtle in presentation, difficult to diagnose, and more common than realized, and it is being increasingly implicated in epileptogenesis in humans.

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Title
Tremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7916/D8B86GQC

More About This Work

Academic Units
Center for Parkinson's Disease and Other Movement Disorders
Published Here
April 10, 2018