J Korean Child Neurol Soc.
2004 Nov;12(2):213-217.
A Case of Mollaret's Meningitis Associated with Benign Pineal Cyst
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Pediatrics, Mirae Children's Hospital, Korea. drkimjs@hanmail.net
- 2Department of Pediatrics, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea.
Abstract
- Mollaret's meningitis is a recurrent aseptic meningitis with characteristic clinical features and Mollaret cells in cerebrospinal fluid(CSF). We describe a case of Mollaret's meningitis in a 3-year-old boy who presented with three episodes of aseptic meningitis within a 4-month period. Each episode was characterized by sudden onset of meningeal irritation followed by spontaneous remission in several days. He was free of neurological symptoms between the episodes. In the acute phase of each episode, his CSF showed polymorphonuclear pleocytosis with normal protein and glucose concentrations. In addition, some epithelial cell clusters in the CSF were evident during the third episode. No pathogenic microorganisms were identified in the CSF or the blood cultures. Brain MRI revealed a benign pineal cyst, 0.8 cm in diameter, and epithelial cell clusters were supposed to represent ruptured cystic walls and recurrent episodes of aseptic meningitis were triggered by spontaneous rupture of the cyst. Our case appears to support "spontaneous rupture of epidermoid cysts in the central nervous system" as one of the etiologies of Mollaret's meningitis.
