Brain stem infarction in a 6-year-old boy with Down syndrome

Abstract

Infarct locations in children with arterial ischemic stroke have primarily been reported to be lobar or in the basal ganglia, and those in patients with Down syndrome (DS) and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) are typically wide and multiple. No solitary brain stem infarctions have ever been reported in children with DS until now. Here, we report a case of brain stem infarction in a 6-year-old boy with DS who had no cardiac, renal, or intestinal complications. He exhibited ataxic gait and medial longitudinal fasciculus (MLF) symptoms at first presentation. Neuroimaging revealed a localized and isolated lesion in the midbrain. Although he did not satisfy the diagnostic criteria of APS, he showed persistently elevated levels of anticardiolipin antibody (21 U/mL; normal value <10 U/mL). Although he had the risks of a multiple vascular systems disorder, DS, and persistently elevated levels of antiphospholipid antibodies, his lesion was not similar to any of the previously reported cerebral infarctions in DS or in APS. To our knowledge, this is the first report of limited solitary brain stem infarction in a child with DS.

Keywords: Anti-phospholipid syndrome; Brain stem infarction; Down syndrome.