title: Reversible bilateral striatal lesions following Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection associated with elevated levels of interleukins 6 and 8.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Reversible bilateral striatal necrosis associated with Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) infection is a rare neurological disease. The exact pathogenic mechanism remains unknown.
  
  
  METHODS
  We report reversible bilateral striatal lesions with a favorable outcome secondary to M. pneumoniae infection in an 8-year-old Chinese girl. Cranial MRI showed abnormal signals in bilateral striatum, which disappeared 8 months later. To better understand the pathogenesis of this encephalopathy, we examined cytokines levels in serum and cerebrospinal fluid from this patient. The results revealed the concentrations of interleukin-6 and interleukin-8 increased significantly in serum (26 pg/mL and 66 pg/mL, respectively) and cerebrospinal fluid (122 pg/mL and 325 pg/mL, respectively), and were reduced markedly after the therapy. Intrathecal production of interleukin-6 and interleukin-8 is probably related to the pathogenesis of striatal lesions caused by M. pneumoniae. These cytokines may cause local vascular injury, and finally leading to local vascular occlusion.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that interleukin-6 and interleukin-8 may play important roles in the pathogenesis of this disease. This is the first report to describe the role of cytokines in this condition and relevant literature is reviewed. Our findings may lead to better understanding of the pathogenesis of M. pneumoniae-associated striatal lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, China.
authors.forename: Zhe-Feng
authors.initials: ZF
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Center, The Chinese People's Armed Police Forces Corps Hospital in Hangzhou, Hangzhou 310051, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, China. Electronic address: maoshanshan33@163.com.
authors.forename: Shan-Shan
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, China.
authors.forename: Jue
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, China.
authors.forename: Yong-Lin
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, China.
authors.forename: Zhe-Zhi
authors.initials: ZZ
authors.lastname: Xia
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002681:China; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000097:blood*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009175:Mycoplasma Infections / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D009177:Mycoplasma pneumoniae; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: C508606:CXCL8 protein, human; C508600:IL6 protein, human; D015850:Interleukin-6; D016209:Interleukin-8
keywords: Basal ganglia; Cytokine; Interleukin; Mycoplasma pneumoniae