{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]],"date-time":"2026-04-20T21:59:38Z","timestamp":1776722378990,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,10]],"date-time":"2026-03-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773100800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Immunol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-\u03b1) inhibitors are extensively utilized in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Adalimumab (ADA), a TNF-\u03b1 inhibitor, appears to be an effective and safe option for pediatric Crohn\u2019s disease (CD), but the potential risk of opportunistic infection and autoimmune disease is of particular concern. We present the first pediatric case of viral encephalitis (VE) in a 16-year-old boy with CD following treatment with ADA. A 16-year-old CD patient developed symptoms such as fever, dizziness, drowsiness, and blurred vision after three months of ADA treatment. Fundoscopic examination demonstrated pronounced edema of the optic disc in both eyes. The lumbar puncture revealed a marked elevation in intracranial pressure and pathogen analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid identified an HHV-7 infection using next generation sequencing. Following discontinuation of ADA and treatment with acyclovir, the child\u2019s symptoms largely subsided. Literature search identified 11 published CD adult patients with neurological complications related to ADA treatment, while 7 cases were diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis and 4 with Guillain-Barr\u00e9 syndrome. This report presents the first pediatric CD patient with treatment of ADA, during which VE manifested. Although neurological adverse events associated with ADA are infrequent in pediatrics, vigilant monitoring for neurological symptoms, particularly for infections, remains critical.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2026.1759050","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,10]],"date-time":"2026-03-10T05:30:52Z","timestamp":1773120652000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Viral encephalitis related to adalimumab in a 16-year-old Crohn\u2019s disease patient: case report and literature review"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Zao","family":"Liang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University","place":["Guangzhou, Guangdong, China"]},{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases","place":["Guangzhou, Guangdong, China"]},{"name":"Biomedical Innovation Center, The 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