Curious case of steroid responsive diffuse anterior horn cell disease associated with COVID-19 infection

Nanda, Satyan; Handa, Rahul; Anand, Rajiv; Prasad, Atul; Zutshi, Dhruv; Sharma, Bipan; Dass, Sujata K.; Bedi, Prabhjeet Kaur; Pahuja, Aarti; Shah, Pankaj Kumar; Malhotra, Nalin

Covid-19-associated neurological manifestations are being reported with increased frequency throughout the world. In a study from China, symptoms referable to peripheral nervous system (PNS) were described in approximately 9% of hospitalized Covid-19 patients. Common PNS symptoms reported in the study were loss of taste/smell and muscle pains. With this communication, we expand the spectrum of PNS manifestations of Covid-19 infection by reporting an association of steroid responsive diffuse anterior horn cell disease with Covid-19 infection from a tertiary care centre in India. Neurological manifestations of Covid-19 are diverse, and our case which to best of my knowledge is the first case in literature to report an occurrence of steroid responsive diffuse anterior horn cell disease associated with Covid-19 infection, adds to the ever-increasing spectrum of neurological manifestations associated with this pandemic causing virus. Good response to steroid in our case serves to provide an insight into the possible pathogenesis of this manifestation and also paves the way for future therapeutic decisions related to this association.