CASE REPORT article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Disorders : Autoimmune Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1673538
Case report: A case of Influenza A infection-associated stiff person spectrum disorder with favorable outcome
Provisionally accepted
- Tianjin Children's Hospital, Tianjin, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Influenza A (H1N1) virus infection has been associated with various immune-mediated neurological disorders. Previous studies have reported cases of stiff person spectrum disorder (SPSD) subsequent to viral infections. We report a case of a 4-year-old boy who developed SPSD following H1N1 infection. The patient primarily presented with axial and limb muscle rigidity, painful spasms, and exaggerated startle responses. Electromyography (EMG) revealed continuous synchronous discharges in agonist and antagonist muscles, consistent with the characteristic manifestations of stiff person syndrome (SPS),meanwhile, repetitive compound muscle action potentials (R-CMAPs) following stimulation of the median, common peroneal and tibial nerves were observed on electroneurography (ENG). Symptoms markedly improved following benzodiazepine therapy, and complete remission was achieved after combined treatment with IVIG and glucocorticoids.
Keywords: stiff person spectrum disorder, Influenza A, Autoimmunity, Electromyography, Immunotherapy
Received: 26 Jul 2025; Accepted: 29 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Lei, Tian, Zhang, Xiaoli and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
YU Xiaoli, yxlniu@163.com
Dong Li, tjeksj@163.com
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.