No abstract

We describe a young urban boy with atypically fulminant subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE). He had measles at 3 years of age despite receiving measles immunization in infancy. The literature describing acute SSPE is reviewed and summarized. This report reiterates the need to include SSPE as a diagnostic possibility in acute encephalopathic processes. The dismal prognosis of SSPE further emphasizes the need for measles vaccination and revaccination of all children who are initially immunized at an age of less than 15 months.

Clinical and electroencephalographic data on 7 infants and children with periodic lateralized epileptiform discharges (PLEDS) in their electroencephalograms were reviewed. The waveform, periodicity, and transitory nature of these discharges were similar to those reported in adults. In children, as in adults, PLEDs reflect severe underlying brain dysfunction which is often associated with metabolic and structural abnormalities. In adults, PLEDs are usually associated with altered states of consciousness and with acute unilateral cerebral lesions; in children, however, they often occur with little or no alteration in consciousness and with chronic, diffuse lesions of the central nervous system.