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Query: UMLS:C0023380 (lethargy)
 5,697 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Influenza viruses rarely cause acute encephalopathy. Post-influenzal encephalitis, which occurs a few weeks after recovery from influenza is thought to be an autoimmune process associated with demyelination and vasculopathy. It has been suggested that Economo lethargic encephalitis followed by postencephalitic Parkinsonism was associated with the influenza A epidemic of 1918 (Spanish flu). The incidence of Reye's syndrome has markedly decreased due to the avoidance of salicylates in the treatment of influenza or varicella. One inactivated flu vaccine is thought to have caused Guillain Barre syndrome due to molecular mimicry between viral protein and myelin, which triggered autoimmune responses. The persistence of influenza virus genes in neural cells as one of the causes of chronic degenerative diseases of the central nervous system by inducing apoptosis of the host cells is yet to be proven.
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PMID:Influenza virus and neurological diseases. 931 61

Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis is characterized by ophthalmoplegia, ataxia, and disturbance of consciousness. It is similar to Miller Fisher syndrome, a variant of Guillain-Barre syndrome, in that they share features such as ophthalmoplegia and ataxia. The difference is that patients with Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis have impaired consciousness, whereas patients with Miller Fisher syndrome have alert consciousness and areflexia. Here, we report the case of a 3-year-old child who was diagnosed with Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis presenting typical clinical features and interesting radiological findings. The patient showed ophthalmoplegia, ataxia, and subsequent stuporous mentality. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed high signal intensity in the pons and cerebellum around the 4th ventricle on a T2-weighted image. He was successfully treated with intravenous immunoglobulin. Differentiation of Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis and Miller Fisher syndrome is often difficult because they possess many overlapping features. Brain magnetic resonance imaging may be helpful in diagnosing Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis, especially when lesions are definitely found.
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PMID:A pediatric case of Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis. 2565 89