Questions posted in the Neurology and Neurosurgery Forum have been answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

Question Title: Encephalitis>Undiagnosed?

Forum: Neurology Forum
Topic: Neurology - General


My mother has multifocal lesions throughout her front, back
and cerebellum. She had a seisure that was witnessed by an EMT
as spaced out, unable to communicate, unaware of her surroundings
and was labeled a seisure. She's had cerebral angiogram, CAT Scans,TEE,
Spinals, numerous blood work and 2 brain biopsies all proven negative.
Her EEG's are slow. The only thing that came up is evidence of old bleeds
from the biopsies. I suspect an infection that was atypical,
asymptomatic. She has no symptoms but mental confusion, cognative deficits, unable to
make or think through decisions. No motor deficits. She is on dilantin.
Ruled out:

MS
Cancer
Encephalitis
MELAS
HERPES
SSPE
Full Stroke
Cardiac disease

DX: Encephalopathy, multifocal strokes

She was exposed to a live polio virus through my son being vaccinated, but
they ruled that out too as the lesions don't present that way.
Do you know of many cases on encephalitis that can go undiagnosed?

_______

Dear Miss Hentrup:

Encephalitis would have been evident in the spinal tap results; there
are no "asymptomatic" cases of encephalitis that I am aware of, nor any
with normal CSF profiles.

Please read my reply to your original post dated 8/13/98 for additional
recommendations.

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