title: A characteristic EEG pattern in neonatal herpes simplex encephalitis.
abstract: EEGs were obtained on six infants with herpes simplex virus (HSV) encephalitis. The first EEG of four of these infants showed a unique multifocal periodic or quasiperiodic pattern; in one of these, a periodic pattern subsequently replaced the quasiperiodic pattern. A fifth infant developed a quasiperiodic pattern on the eighteenth day. All of these infants died or were left with severe encephalopathy. A sixth infant was diagnosed and therapy initiated on day 2. The periodic pattern did not appear in any of this infant's EEGs, and at age 8 months he showed only a moderate motor delay. A periodic EEG in a young infant with partial motor seizures and CSF lymphocyte pleocytosis is virtually diagnostic of HSV encephalitis.
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents