- Encephalitis
- Inflammation of the brain. Encephalitis occurs, for example, in 1 in 1,000 cases of measles. It may start (up to 3 weeks) after onset of the measles rash and present with high fever, convulsions, and coma. It usually runs a blessedly short course with full recovery within a week. Or it may eventuate in central nervous system impairment or death. Encephalitis can cause brain damage, which may result in or exacerbate the symptoms of a developmental disorder or mental illness. The form called encephalitis lethargica (“sleeping sickness”) results in a set of Parkinson’s disease-like symptoms called postencephalitic parkinsonianism. In some cases encephalitis causes death. Treatment of encephalitis must begin as early as possible to avoid potentially serious and life-long effects. Depending on the cause of the inflammation, this may include antibiotics, anti-viral medications, and anti-inflammatory drugs. If brain damage results from encephalitis, therapy (such as physical therapy or cognitive restoration therapy) may help patients regain lost functions.
* * *- acute hemorrhagic e. e. of apoplectoid character due to blood extravasation. SYN: e. hemorrhagica.- acute necrotizing e. an acute form of e., characterized by destruction of brain parenchyma; caused by herpes simplex and other viruses.- Australian X e. SYN: Murray Valley e..- bunyavirus e. e. of abrupt onset, with severe frontal headache and low-grade to moderate fever, caused by members of the genus Bunyavirus (Bunyaviridae family); infections also occur in rodents, lagomorphs, and domestic animals. SYN: California e..- California e. SYN: bunyavirus e..- coxsackie e. a viral e., seen mainly in infants and involving principally the gray matter of the medulla and cord, caused by Enterovirus human coxsackie B.- epidemic e. a viral e. occurring epidemically, such as in Japanese B e., St. Louis e., and lethargic e..- Far East Russian e. tick-borne e. (Eastern subtype).- e. hemorrhagica SYN: acute hemorrhagic e..- herpes simplex e. the most common acute e., caused by HSV-1; affects persons of any age; preferentially involves the inferomedial portions of the temporal lobe and the orbital portions of the frontal lobes; pathologically, severe hemorrhagic necrosis is present along with, in the acute stages, intranuclear eosinophilic inclusion bodies in the neurons and glial cells. SYN: acute inclusion body e., herpes e..- hyperergic e. e. as a result of an immunologic allergic reaction of the nervous system to antigenic stimuli.- Ilhéus e. an e. caused by the Ilhéus virus (genus Flavivirus) and endemic to eastern Brazil and other parts of South and Central America; transmitted by mosquitoes.- Japanese B e. an epidemic e. or encephalomyelitis of Japan, Siberian Russia, and other parts of Asia; due to the Japanese B e. virus (genus Flavivirus) and transmitted by mosquitoes; can occur as a symptomless, subclinical infection but may cause an acute meningoencephalomyelitis. SYN: e. japonica, Russian autumn e..- e. japonica SYN: Japanese B e..- Mengo e. an e. occurring in Africa, due to the Mengo strain of encephalomyocarditis virus, a member of the Picornaviridae.- Murray Valley e. a severe e. with a high mortality rate occurring in the Murray Valley of Australia; the disease is most severe in children and is characterized by headache, fever, malaise, drowsiness or convulsions, and rigidity of the neck; extensive brain damage may result; it is caused by the Murray Valley e. virus (genus Flavivirus). SYN: Australian X disease, Australian X e..- necrotizing e. any e. in which extensive brain necrosis occurs, e.g., acute necrotizing hemorrhagic encephalomyelitis.- e. neonatorum e. of the newborn, described by R. Virchow as marked by the presence of fat-laden cells in the brain.- e. periaxialis concentrica e. that is clinically similar to adrenoleukodystrophy, but pathologically characterized by concentric globes or circles of demyelination of cerebral white matter separated by normal tissue. SYN: Baló disease.- e. periaxialis diffusa SYN: Schilder disease.- postvaccinal e. SYN: postvaccinal encephalomyelitis.- Powassan e. an acute disease of children varying clinically from undifferentiated febrile illness to e.; caused by the Powassan virus, a member of the Flaviviridae family, and transmitted by ixodid ticks; most frequently seen in Canada.- e. pyogenica SYN: bacterial e..- rasmussen e. e. in which antibodies to a stimulatory glutamate receptor in the CNS are found; perhaps autoimmune. SYN: Rasmussen syndrome.- Russian autumn e. SYN: Japanese B e..- Russian spring-summer e. (Eastern subtype) a tick-borne e. virus belonging to the family Flaviviridae.- Russian spring-summer e. (Western subtype) SYN: tick-borne e. (Central European subtype).- Russian tick-borne e. SYN: tick-borne e. (Eastern subtype).- secondary e. collective term for postinfectious, postexanthem, and postvaccinal encephalitides.- e. subcorticalis chronica SYN: Binswanger disease.- suppurative e. SYN: bacterial e..- tick-borne e. (Central European subtype) tick-borne meningoencephalitis caused by a flavivirus closely related to the virus causing the Far Eastern type; it is transmitted by Ixodes ricinus, also by infected raw milk, especially that of goats. SYN: biundulant meningoencephalitis, Central European tick-borne fever, diphasic milk fever, Russian spring-summer e. (Western subtype).- tick-borne e. (Eastern subtype) a severe form of e. caused by a flavivirus (Flaviviridae family), and transmitted by ticks (Ixodes pertulcatus and I. ricinus). SYN: Russian tick-borne e..- van Bogaert e. SYN: subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.- vernal e. tick-borne e. (Eastern subtype).- woodcutter's e. tick-borne e. (Eastern subtype).
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en·ceph·a·lit·ic -'lit-ik adj* * *
n.inflammation of the brain. It may be caused by a viral or bacterial infection or it may be part of an allergic response to a systemic viral illness or vaccination (see encephalomyelitis). Viral encephalitis is endemic in some parts of the world; it may also occur epidemically or sporadically. One form - encephalitis lethargica - reached epidemic proportions shortly after World War I and was marked by headache and drowsiness, progressing to coma (hence its popular name - sleepy sickness). Encephalitis can cause postencephalitic parkinsonism. Another type of encephalitis that occurs sporadically is due to herpes simplex.* * *
en·ceph·a·li·tis (en-sef″ə-liґtis) pl. encephaliґtides [encephalo- + -itis] inflammation of the brain. encephalitic adj
Medical dictionary. 2011.
