title: Atypical presentation of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis in 3 patients.
abstract: Experience with some of our patients suggests that the diagnosis of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) may be made early and confirmed by the demonstration of high levels of measles complement-fixing antibodies in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum, in the absence of classic clinical, electroencephalographic or brain biopsy support for the diagnosis. It is not known when the measles-specific antibodies first appear in the CSF, but these 3 atypical cases suggest that they were present in high titre early in the disease.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D002648:Child; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008457:Measles / Q000276:immunology; D013344:Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral