Acute necrotizing encephalopathy: combined therapy and favorable outcome in a new case.
BACKGROUND
Acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE) is a rare disease characterized by multiple, symmetrical brain lesions, affecting thalami, brainstem tegmentum, and cerebellar medulla; more inconstantly, other structures are involved, i.e., internal capsules, posterolateral putamen, and deep periventricular white matter.


METHODS
The clinical picture consists of rapidly deteriorating acute monophasic encephalopathy preceded by prodromal febrile illness; the symptoms include hyperpyrexia, convulsions, recurrent vomiting, and coma within 24 h.


CONCLUSIONS
The outcome is usually poor and approximately 70% of the patients die within a few days from the onset of fever. There is no specific therapy for ANE but, in some patients, the clinical status improved with steroid treatment.
Manara
Renzo
R
Service of Neuroradiology, Hospital of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Franzoi
Malida
M
Cogo
Paola
P
Battistella
Pier Antonio
PA
D002675:Child, Preschool; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D004684:Leukoencephalitis, Acute Hemorrhagic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D013788:Thalamus / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome