Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis: a case report
Praticò, A.D.; Saporito, M.; Iacono, O.; Castellano-Chiodo, D.; Pavone, P.
Minerva Pediatrica 63(1): 73-78
2011
ISSN/ISBN: 0026-4946 PMID: 21311432 Document Number: 652533
Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a progressive neurological disorder of childhood and early adolescence caused by persistent defective measles virus. Clinical manifestations appear many years after the acute measles infection. The incidence of SSPE has substantially declined after the introduction of an effective vaccine. We report a case of a child with SSPE that began with atonia, dysarthria, and intellectual deterioration without the presence of any particular EEG anomalies. We have reported this girl who was affected by this severe affliction in the hope that, because of the rarity of SSPE, it would not go undiagnosed.