title: Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis with generalized seizure as a first symptom: a case report.
abstract: Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) can show variations in its clinical course. Typical initial symptoms consist of intellectual decline, deterioration in school performance, and myoclonic jerks. Atypical forms of presentation such as generalized seizures and acute or subacute coma can be observed rarely. This report describes a 5-year-old boy with an atypical feature of SSPE, generalized seizures. For 1 month his only symptom was seizures, followed by personality and behavioral changes and myoclonic jerks. A diagnosis of SSPE was made based on the boy's history of measles, characteristic electroencephalogram changes and compatible magnetic resonance, and elevated anti-measles antibody titers in the cerebrospinal fluid and serum. The case presented in this article is a good example of SSPE in which, at early stages, some of the signs and symptoms can lead to an erroneous diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University, Kahramanmaras, Turkey. tuncedeniz@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Deniz
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tuncel
authors.forename: Ayda Ertugrul
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Ozbek
authors.forename: Gülen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Demirpolat
authors.forename: Hamza
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Karabiber
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008457:Measles / Q000150:complications; D008459:Measles virus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012640:Seizures / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D013344:Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology