Pediatric manifestations of Hashimoto's encephalopathy

Hashimoto's encephalopathy is a steroid-responsive encephalopathy associate d with elevated blood concentrations of antithyroid antibodies. The patient s are usually euthyroid or mildly hypothyroid, The authors report two pedia tric patients with Hashimoto's encephalopathy and review the literature, Th e clinical picture in adolescents, as with adults, is pleomorphic but frequ ently associated with seizures, confusion, and hallucinations. Alternativel y, progressive cognitive decline manifested by a drop in school performance can be observed. The diagnosis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis is often overloo ked at presentation and a high degree of suspicion is necessary for proper diagnosis, (C) 1999 by Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.