Concurrent Thalamic and Cerebellar Involvement in Pediatric Neuropsychiatric Lupus: Expanding the Radiologic Spectrum

The report details a 13-year-old patient with newly diagnosed SLE who developed neuropsychiatric SLE (NP-SLE) – presenting with acute cerebellar dysfunction, impaired consciousness and nonconvulsive status epilepticus – despite initially atypical neuroimaging.

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October 20, 2026
2 min

Phoenix Children's Medical Connection

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A peer-reviewed case report describes a rare presentation of pediatric neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus with simultaneous acute cerebellitis and bilateral thalamic involvement.
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The 13-year-old patient with newly diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus developed cerebellar dysfunction, impaired consciousness, and nonconvulsive status epilepticus.
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Advanced MRI showed cerebellar cortical diffusion restriction and bilateral thalamic signal abnormalities consistent with vasogenic edema, without vascular occlusion.
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The report emphasizes distinguishing inflammatory neuropsychiatric lupus from posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome, infection, and ischemia.
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Treatment included corticosteroids, antiseizure therapy, plasmapheresis, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab, followed by rehabilitation and maintenance therapy; the patient gradually recovered neurologic

Concurrent Thalamic and Cerebellar Involvement in Pediatric Neuropsychiatric Lupus: Expanding the Radiologic Spectrum

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Original Source(s)

Concurrent Thalamic and Cerebellar Involvement in Pediatric Neuropsychiatric Lupus: Expanding the Radiologic Spectrum

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