Opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome attributable to West Nile encephalitis: a case report

Opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome is a very rare neurological disorder associated with some viral infections and exceptionally with the West Nile virus.

A 57-year-old Caucasian woman presented with fever, dizziness, balance difficulties, vomiting, dancing eye, altered speech, tremor, generalized myoclonus and failure to rise or stand. Our objective is to describe a patient with West Nile infection, which was identified both in her serum and cerebrospinal fluid and was associated with encephalitis and opsoclonus-myoclonus-ataxia syndrome.

Opsoclonus-myoclonus-ataxia syndrome continued for 4 weeks after onset, when she died. There was no evidence for any other etiology responsible for her opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome. Her opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome appeared associated with West Nile encephalitis and had an unfavorable evolution despite treatment.