Abstract
Purpose
There are some reports of so-called Alice-in-Wonderland syndrome mostly concerning differential diagnosis, association with a variety of infectious diseases and even some case reports on functional imaging. Long-term data are rare.
Methods
Nine boys aged 6 to 11 years that had been diagnosed with Alice-in-Wonderland syndrome between 2003 and 2008 were contacted for a long-term follow-up study in summer, 2009, with a mean follow-up of 4.6 years.
Results
At the time of the follow-up study, all children were in good general and mental health. Symptoms of Alice-in-Wonderland syndrome had ceased within weeks or months. In two patients, episodes of metamorphopsia returned after a symptom-free latency of 3 years and 1 year, respectively. Five children had a family history of migraine or epilepsy. In one case, the father was reported to have experienced similar symptoms when he was a child.
Conclusion
Our follow-up study shows that Alice-in-Wonderland is most likely a benign, self-terminating childhood condition, although occasional recurrences of symptoms are possible.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the participating patients and their parents. This work was funded by the “Wagener-Stiftung für Sozialpädiatrie”, Emsdetten.
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Weidenfeld, A., Borusiak, P. Alice-in-Wonderland syndrome—a case-based update and long-term outcome in nine children. Childs Nerv Syst 27, 893–896 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-011-1400-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-011-1400-6