| How to cite this article: Shubhakaran KP. Cerebellar ataxia in malarial infections. Ann Trop Med Public Health 2015;8:220 |
| How to cite this URL: Shubhakaran KP. Cerebellar ataxia in malarial infections. Ann Trop Med Public Health [serial online] 2015 [cited 2017 Nov 14];8:220. Available from: https://www.atmph.org/text.asp?2015/8/5/220/159852 |
Dear Sir,
I went through a case report of cerebellar ataxia after mixed infection of plasmodium vivax and falciparum malaria by Kumar et al. [1] There have been reports of such cases for more than three decades. [2] Earlier, they were described with falciparum malaria but later on with plasmodium vivax or mixed infections as well. More such cases were described after outbreaks in India in the nineties. [3],[4] Cerebellar ataxia has been reported as a presenting illness without loss of consciousness (i.e., cerebral malaria), as sequelae in survivors of cerebral malaria, and as a delayed complication of malaria, i.e., delayed cerebellar ataxia or post malaria neurological syndrome. [3] Optic neuritis is also being described in patients of malaria as retrobulbar neuritis, a complication of chloroquine that along with vitreous hemorrhage and cortical blindness is an important cause of visual impairment in patients of malaria. But such combination of optic neuritis with ataxia has been recently reported and is supposed to be either a variant of delayed cerebellar ataxia or an acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. [5]
| References |
| 1. |
Kumar PS, Manohar S, Sideswari R, Mythili M. Acute cerebellar ataxia: A neurological manifestation in malaria. Ann Trop Med Pub Health 2014;7:266-7.
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| 2. |
Senanayake N. Delayed cerebellar ataxia: A new complication of falciparum malaria. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1987;294:1253-4.
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| 3. |
Kochar DK, Shubhakaran, Kumawat BL, Kochar SK, Halwai M, Makkar RK, et al. Cerebral malaria in Indian adults: A prospective study of 441 patients from Bikaner, North-West India. J Assoc Physicians India 2002;50:234-41.
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| 4. |
Kochar DK, Shubhakaran, Joshi A, Thanvi I, Kumawat B. Neurological manifestations of falciparum malaria. J Assoc Physicians India 1997;45:898-8.
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| 5. |
Kasundra GM, Bhargava AN, Bhushan B, Shubhakaran K, Sood I. Post-plasmodium vivax malaria cerebellar ataxia and optic neuritis: A new form of delayed cerebellar ataxia or cerebellar varient of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. J Pediatr Neurosci 2015;10:58-60.
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Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
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DOI: 10.4103/1755-6783.159852
