Abstract
Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a rare and chronic neurodegenerative disease caused by an
unceasing infection of the brain by an altered form of the measles virus acquired earlier in life. The initial
symptoms usually involve regressive changes in intellect and personality. Over a span of several months, the
psychological symptoms are augmented by neurologial symptoms, which most often composes of myoclonic jerks. This disorder more often affects male children or adolescents as compared to females and adults.
SSPE cases are now mostly seen in developing countries where measles virus is still highly prevalent. Here we
report a case of a 6 years old male who presented to the Primary Health Care Centre in a small settlement
area of Karachi; with complaints of gradual weakness of all four limbs associated with loss of power and mild
fever. The boy was also having myoclonus seizures involving right upper arm and right facial jerks. Brain MRI
showed no physical abnormality although the Electroencephalogram revealed abnormal signals which
confirmed SSPE.
Neha Kamran, Fatima Jehangir. (2019) A Debilitating Complication Of Measles Virus: SSPE, The Pakistan Journal of Medicine and Dentistry, Volume 8, Issue-1.
-
Views
545 -
Downloads
60
Article Details
Volume
Issue
Type
Language
