Clinical characteristics, management, and outcomes of CLIPPERS: A comprehensive systematic review of 140 patients from 100 studies

Clinical and imaging characteristics of corticosteroid-responsive chronic lymphocytic inflammation with Pontine perivascular enhancement syndrome (CLIPPERS): an analysis of 9 cases

PURPOSE

This study aimed to elucidate the clinical and radiological profiles of Chronic Lymphocytic Inflammation with Pontine Perivascular Enhancement Responsive to Steroids (CLIPPERS), targeting an enhanced comprehension and more efficient diagnosis of this rare disorder among medical professionals.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study, encompassing a detailed analysis of clinical and imaging data from nine CLIPPERS patients diagnosed between 2016 and 2023 at Xuzhou Medical University Affiliated Hospital and Beijing Xuanwu Hospital.

RESULTS

Our study included nine patients, comprising seven males and two females, with ages varying from 9 to 79 years.The clinical spectrum was broad, including lower limb weakness (5 cases), unsteady gait (6), lower limb numbness (2), visual impairments (4), dizziness and headaches (5), cognitive impairments (2), facial sensory abnormalities (2), language disturbances (4), nausea and vomiting (1), limb twitching (1), fever (1), and chest and abdominal discomfort (1).Brain MRI scans uniformly disclosed multifocal lesions with slightly prolonged T1 and pronounced T2 signal characteristics in the brainstem, notably in the pons, as well as in bilateral thalami, cerebellum, and basal ganglia. High signal intensity on FLAIR sequences and variable signal intensity on DWI sequences were observed, with post-contrast imaging exhibiting the pathognomonic punctate and curvilinear 'pepper-like' enhancement. Cervical spinal cord MRIs from two patients mirrored this enhancement pattern. Pathological examination via biopsy in two cases-one of brain tissue and one of spinal cord tissue-demonstrated perivascular infiltration of CD3 + T lymphocytes, accompanied by CD20+, CD5+, and CD68 + cell infiltrations. A favorable response to corticosteroid therapy was observed across all patients, with marked amelioration in clinical symptoms and radiological findings. Remarkably, one patient, diagnosed with classical Hodgkin's lymphoma two years post-onset, showed no signs of recurrence on subsequent PET-CT scans following standard chemotherapy. The remaining patients were either on steroid maintenance therapy or received a combination of steroids and immunosuppressants, with symptomatic improvement noted in all.

CONCLUSIONS

CLIPPERS syndrome is distinguished by its characteristic MRI features and demonstrates a robust response to corticosteroid therapy, leading to rapid clinical and radiological improvement. In scenarios with ambiguous diagnosis, pathological tissue biopsy offers essential confirmation.

Chronic Lymphocytic Inflammation With Pontine Perivascular Enhancement Responsive to Steroids Presenting With Predominantly Neuro-Ophthalmic Features

BACKGROUND

Chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids (CLIPPERS) is a rare and poorly understood inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system centered on the pons. It has a characteristic imaging appearance with enhancing and T2-hyperintense punctate and curvilinear lesions in the pons. The lesions lack restricted diffusion and have relatively little perilesional edema. Although patients typically present with gait ataxia and other sequelae of brainstem inflammation including diplopia, there is scant literature focusing on patients who present with primarily neuro-ophthalmic manifestations.

METHODS

Case series of 3 patients presenting with diplopia who had a final diagnosis of CLIPPERS.

RESULTS

Case descriptions of a 71-year-old man, 61-year-old woman, and 38-year-old man are reported. Diplopia was the chief presenting complaint, owing to internuclear ophthalmoplegia, sixth nerve palsy, or skew deviation. All patients had nystagmus and gait ataxia. Brain MRI displayed punctate or curvilinear enhancement of pontine/middle cerebellar peduncle lesions without restricted diffusion. All patients achieved rapid improvement after corticosteroid treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

In 3 patients with CLIPPERS, the main presenting complaint was diplopia. The distinctive imaging signs led to a strong presumption of CLIPPERS, permitting a truncated evaluation and early corticosteroid treatment, which provided rapid reversal of clinical and imaging manifestations.

Headache As the Sole Symptom in Chronic Lymphocytic Inflammation With Pontine Perivascular Enhancement Responsive to Steroids (CLIPPERS): A Case Report and Literature Review

Chronic Lymphocytic Inflammation with Pontine Perivascular Enhancement Responsive to Steroids (CLIPPERS) is a rare central nervous system inflammatory condition usually presenting with a range of symptoms, including ataxia, diplopia, dysarthria, seizures, and headaches. We present a unique case of a 22-year-old woman exhibiting headache as the sole symptom. Imaging and biopsy confirmed the diagnosis, and initial steroid treatment provided relief, though it relapsed on tapering. Long-term management with low-dose steroids and mycophenolate mofetil achieved remission. This case highlights the importance of recognizing atypical presentations of CLIPPERS, emphasizing the need for prompt diagnosis and appropriate treatment plans to improve patient outcomes. Further research is necessary to enhance our understanding and management of CLIPPERS.

Clinicoradiological features of probable chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids (CLIPPERS) syndrome

Chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids (CLIPPERS) is a recently described chronic inflammatory central nervous system disease. This case report describes a young female patient presenting with weakness in bilateral upper and lower limbs and tinnitus for 2 months. A neurological examination revealed signs of brainstem and cerebellar involvement. MRI brain showed characteristic features of CLIPPERS, with punctate and nodular enhancement in the pons and cerebellum. Differential diagnoses were systematically considered and excluded. The patient showed significant clinical and radiological improvement with steroid therapy. No clinical or radiological red flags occurred during the follow-up. This case underscores the critical role of integrating clinical and radiological findings to effectively diagnose and manage CLIPPERS. It emphasises the importance of ruling out alternative diagnoses through a thorough evaluation.

Case report: Shingles-associated probable Bickerstaff brainstem encephalitis with IgM anti-sulfatide positivity

BACKGROUND

Bickerstaff brainstem encephalitis (BBE) is a rare disease considered caused by acute demyelination of the brainstem, most often resulting from secondary autoimmune responses. To our knowledge, this is the first probable case report of shingles-associated BBE with anti-sulfatide IgM positivity.

CASE PRESENTATION

We report the case of an 83-year-old woman with symptoms of progressive limb weakness, difficulty swallowing food, and disturbed consciousness that occurred 4 weeks following herpes zoster infection. Autoimmune anti-sulfatide antibodies were positive and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) sequences revealed clear high signal intensity in pons and bilateral thalamus. Our patient's condition improved markedly with glucocorticoid treatment. After 2 months of treatment, our patient was fully recovered. We considered that for her case, BBE is the most appropriate diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS

We emphasize the importance of a careful medical history and assessment of clinical symptoms, performing MRI, testing autoimmune antibodies for rapid diagnosis, and ruling out differential diagnoses. Further studies involving more patients with BBE with IgM anti-sulfatide autoantibodies will increase the understanding of the clinical characteristics and advance the diagnosis and treatment of this syndrome. Meanwhile, it is crucial for dermatologists to know about this severe neurological complication following shingles.

Chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids (CLIPPERS): contemporary advances and current controversies

Chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids (CLIPPERS) is an inflammatory syndrome with characteristic clinical, radiological, and pathological features, and can be effectively treated with corticosteroid-based immunotherapies. The exact pathogenesis of CLIPPERS remains unclear, and specific diagnostic biomarkers are not available. According to the 2017 diagnostic criteria, probable CLIPPERS should be considered in middle-aged patients with subacute onset of pontocerebellar symptoms and typical punctuate and curvilinear gadolinium enhancement lesions ("salt-and-pepper" appearance) located in the hindbrain (especially pons) on magnetic resonance imaging. In addition, CLIPPERS-mimics, such as central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma, and several antibody-associated autoimmune CNS diseases (e.g., myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease, autoimmune glial fibrillary acidic protein astrocytopathy, and anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis), should be extensively excluded. The prerequisite for definite CLIPPERS is the perivascular T-cell-predominant inflammatory infiltration observed on pathological analysis. A biopsy is strongly suggested when clinical/radiological red flags are present. Most patients with CLIPPERS respond well to corticosteroids and have a good prognosis. Long-term low-dose corticosteroid maintenance therapy or corticosteroids coupled with immunosuppressants are recommended to prevent the recurrence of the syndrome. The potential progression of CLIPPERS to lymphoma has been suggested in some cases; therefore, at least 2-year clinical and radiological follow-up is essential. Here, we critically review the recent developments and provided an update on the clinical characteristics, diagnostic criteria, differential diagnoses, and therapeutic management of CLIPPERS. We also discuss the current controversies in this context that can be resolved in future research studies.

Chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids triggered by Hodgkin's lymphoma: A case report and brief literature review

Key Clinical Message

We presented a patient, diagnosed with lymphoma-associated CLIPPERS, 11 years after lymphoma treatment. Therefore, CLIPPERS may be paraneoplastic neurological syndrome of lymphoma, which needs to be considered in the follow-up of lymphoma cases.

Abstract

Chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids (CLIPPERS) is a rare central nervous system disorder with a recent increase in incidence. There are few reports of lymphoma-associated CLIPPERS, although the relationship between these two diseases and the pathophysiology of CLIPPERS in general need further investigation. Here, we present a patient with a history of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) more than 10 years before the onset of CLIPPERS, in contrast to the majority of previously reported lymphoma-associated cases, and discuss the possibility that CLIPPERS is the paraneoplastic neurological syndrome of HL. This highlights the need to consider CLIPPERS as a differential diagnosis during follow-up of patients with a history of lymphoma.

Supratentorial Lymphocytic Inflammation with Parenchymal Perivascular Enhancement Responsive to Steroids (SLIPPERS)-Does it Really Exist?

Supratentorial Lymphocytic Inflammation with Parenchymal Perivascular Enhancement Responsive to Steroids (SLIPPERS) is a rare variant of the CLIPPERS spectrum with less than ten reports published so far. There is ongoing discussion regarding whether SLIPPERS is a disease entity on its own or just an acronym encompassing many underlying diagnoses, such as sarcoidosis, vasculitis and anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-associated disease. A 40-year-old woman presented with episodes of language and attention impairment. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed T2/FLAIR hyperintense lesions in the subcortical white matter associated with a micronodular, curvilinear perivascular contrast-enhancement. Alternative diagnoses were excluded. There was a remarkable response to steroids. A relapse occurred after six years, and the biopsy showed perivascular T-cell lymphocytic infiltrate, without granulomas, vasculitis, or neoplasia. There was complete resolution of the relapse after steroids. This case represents the longest reported follow-up of a patient diagnosed with SLIPPERS, and brain biopsy after 6 years did not suggest alternative diagnoses. This report contributes to the discussion regarding the possibility that exclusive supratentorial CLIPPERS-like pathology might be an isolated disease entity, but more biopsy-proven cases with a longer follow-up are needed to support this hypothesis. Recently, GFAP astrocytopathy has been characterized and might correspond to a significant number of cases previously diagnosed as CLIPPERS or SLIPPERS.

A Case of Radiologically Compatible Chronic Lymphocytic Inflammation With Pontine Perivascular Enhancement Responsive to Steroids (CLIPPERS) With Demyelinating Lesions

Chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids (CLIPPERS) is a recently identified diagnosis that can cause a variety of severe symptoms, including ataxia, dysarthria, diplopia, paraparesis, and vertigo. These symptoms rarely present in isolation but often accompany one another in various combinations. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the brain is critical for making the diagnosis and typically reveals scattered enhancement within the pons and adjacent structures. The syndrome responds well to high-dose steroids, and maintenance therapy is required to prevent a recurrence. In this report, we present a case of a 62-year-old man who developed CLIPPERS syndrome. The patient presented with hemiparesis and dysarthria, which developed over four months and then acutely worsened within 24 hours. After diagnosing CLIPPERS, the patient was placed on high-dose steroids and experienced rapid clinical improvement, as well as improvement on repeat MRI. The patient's treatment was complicated by an incidental diagnosis of tuberculosis, which required simultaneous management with isoniazid.