title: Recurrent Hopkin's syndrome: a case report and review of the literature.
abstract: Flaccid paralysis affecting one or more limbs after an asthma attack is a poliomyelitis-like illness known as Hopkins' syndrome (HS). Although a viral infection or multifactorial immune suppression during an acute attack of bronchial asthma has been proposed to be the mechanism involved in this syndrome, the precise etiopathogenetic mechanism remains unknown. We report a 13-year-old girl who had recurrent acute episodes of myelitis after asthma attacks. She had four episodes of acute flaccid paralysis, each of which was preceded by acute asthma attacks. Some of the attacks were accompanied by sensory and sphincter disturbances. She had hyperIgEaemia and the prick test to Dermatophagoides farinae and cedar pollen was strongly positive. The present case is the first HS case demonstrating frequent recurrences and suggests a possible link between HS and atopic myelitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric and Pediatric Neurology, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria OVE-Policlinico, Università di Catania, Catania, Italy. ppavone@unict.it
authors.forename: Piero
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pavone
authors.forename: Pavone
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Piero
authors.forename: Maria Roberta
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.forename: Ferdinando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Scalia
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Polosa
authors.forename: Jun-Ichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kira
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Falsaperla
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001991:Bronchitis / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010243:Paralysis / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology; D011051:Poliomyelitis / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology; D012008:Recurrence
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones