PURPOSE To determine the usefulness of single-photon emission CT (SPECT) in the diagnosis of acute Japanese encephalitis (JE). METHODS We examined 10 patients (six men and four women; mean age, 69 years) with viral encephalitis. We divided the cases into two groups: the JE group (n = 4) and the non-JE group (n = 6; two with herpes simplex encephalitis and four with encephalitis of unknown ori...

Viral infections are the commonest cause of encephalitis, and the purpose of this article is to inform UK clinicians of the presentation, diagnosis and management of viral encephalitis in travellers returning to the UK. The classical presentation is as a triad of fever, headache and altered mental state. There may be other findings either on examination or on imaging which, together with a trav...

Most patients with herpes simplex virus Type I encephalitis experience an acute, monophasic illness. Chronic encephalitis is much less common, and few late relapses are associated with intractable seizure disorders. A 10-year-old boy was admitted to our institution for intractable epilepsy as part of an evaluation for epilepsy surgery. His history was significant for herpes meningitis at age 4 ...

Although its treatment is available, complication incidence, probability of permanent neurologic sequel and rate of mortality are still high in herpes simplex virus encephalitis (HSVE). Early diagnosis and prompt antiviral therapy are essential to improve prognosis and to prevent severe neurologic complications. Here we wanted to present a 46 years old female patient hospitalized at the infecti...

A 78-year-old male presented to the Emergency Department complaining of a 1-week onset of increasing fatigue and anorexia. The patient was previously well but had a history of depression, chronic diarrhea, and hypertension. His examination was remarkable for mild fever (100.1°F). He had no acute neurologic deficits. The patient felt better after intravenous fluids and was discharged to follow-u...

Herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) is the most common form of acute viral encephalitis in industrialized countries. Type I interferon (IFN) is important for control of herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) in the central nervous system (CNS). Here we show that microglia are the main source of HSV-induced type I IFN expression in CNS cells and these cytokines are induced in a cGAS-STING-dependent manner. ...

Trigeminal neuritis usually is caused by an inflammatory reaction to herpes simplex virus, which often resides within the gasserian ganglion of the trigeminal nerve. Transaxonal movement of the virus between the ganglion and peripheral nerves within the oral cavity has been documented [1 , 2]. The virus can be isolated from the painful aphthous ulcers within the oral cavity and the typical cold...

A 7-month-old girl developed fever, unconsciousness, and left oral clonic seizures. EEG showed background slowing and periodic lateralized epileptiform discharges (PLED) over right central-temporal regions. Brain MRI revealed a right temporal pole T2 hyperintense lesion (figure 1). CSF PCR was positive for herpes simplex virus 1. Five days after starting treatment with acyclovir (45 mg/kg/day) ...

Herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) is a severe neurological disease in children and adults caused by herpes simplex virus. This review discusses recent findings on the role of Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) deficiencies in the HSE development. Critical checkpoints in the TLR3 signaling that contribute to innate response are discussed, including the importance of TLR3 ligand recognition site and tra...

A technique for detecting herpes simplex virus (HSV) antigen in CSF by measuring the antigen-antibody complex-activated complement-stimulated chemiluminescence in normal granulocytes was applied to 17 CSF samples from 10 patients with herpes simplex virus encephalitis (HSVE), and 26 samples from 22 patients with a non-HSVE brain illness. All CSF samples taken from the 5th to the 38th day (inclu...