title: Combination therapy with intraventricular interferon-alpha and ribavirin for subacute sclerosing panencephalitis and monitoring measles virus RNA by quantitative PCR assay.
abstract: Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a degenerative disease of the central nervous system that leads to death within a few years. Recently, it has been reported that combination therapy with intraparenchymal interferon-alpha (INF-alpha) and intraventricular ribavirin is effective. An 11-year-old SSPE patient whose clinical symptoms progressed rapidly, was treated first with intraventricular INF-alpha and then with combined intraventricular INF-alpha and ribavirin therapy. To monitor viral load over the course of the therapy, measles virus RNA was quantified using a real-time polymerase chain reaction assay. Measles virus RNA decreased rapidly after the INF-alpha therapy was started, paralleling the decrease in the measles antibody titer in the cerebrospinal fluid and the improvement in the neurological disability. After intraventricular ribavirin was combined with INF-alpha therapy, no further improvement was observed. The neurological disability gradually progressed, although the amount of virus RNA remained low.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Yo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hoshino
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Tamiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Negoro
authors.forename: Akihisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Okumura
authors.forename: Yasuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kajita
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakuma
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakayama
authors.forename: Mitsuaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hosoya
authors.forename: Akemi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tomoda
authors.forename: Tsuneo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Morisima
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001769:Blood / Q000821:virology; D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid / Q000821:virology; D002648:Child; D018450:Disease Progression; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006801:Humans; D007276:Injections, Intraventricular; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008459:Measles virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012313:RNA / Q000378:metabolism; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013344:Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D012367:RNA, Viral; D012254:Ribavirin; D012313:RNA