Herpes simplex encephalitis treated with adenine arabinoside.
We report a case of a 5-year-old girl with herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) who was treated with adenine arabinoside (ara-A). The characteristic symptoms consisted of headache and vomiting followed by progressive disturbance of consciousness. CT scan revealed a translucent area in the left temporal lobe. Seven days after the onset vigorous treatment including ara-A was initiated. She recovered without apparent toxicity or sequelae except for mild motor aphasia. Our experience suggests that ara-A is effective in the treatment of HSE if given early enough.
D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D018139:Simplexvirus / Q000276:immunology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014740:Vidarabine / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D014740:Vidarabine