Reviewing the Uncommon Extrahepatic Central Nervous System (CNS) Manifestations of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infection: A Case Report.
This case report aims to shed more light on the increasingly described scenario of extrahepatic central nervous system (CNS) manifestations of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We present a possible rare case of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis manifesting as ring-enhancing lesions on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head study conducted on a gentleman in his 50s who presented to the hospital with neurologic features, with an evident demonstration of HCV ribonucleic acid (RNA) in the patient's cerebrospinal fluid sampled. A closer differential of tumefactive multiple sclerosis due to HCV was considered as well. An increasing association of HCV infection with non-Hodgkin's (B-cell) lymphoma, which can potentially affect the brain, is also being noted in the literature. Other common causes of ring-enhancing brain lesions were considered, and attempts were made to exclude a majority of them in this case report.