title: New hope for Rasmussen encephalitis?
abstract: Rasmussen encephalitis (RE) is characterized by chronic inflammation of one cerebral hemisphere which causes intractable epileptic seizures and progressive neurological deficits. Since antiepileptic pharmacotherapy is often ineffective the traditional therapy for Rasmussen encephalitis is hemispherectomy in one of its modern variants which renders the patient seizure free but leads to a severe deficit. To escape this dilemma, immunomodulatory therapeutic approaches such as rituximab, a monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody, offer an alternative and bear promising therapeutic potentials in Rasmussen encephalitis.
authors.affiliation: Neurology, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, and Department of Neurology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Schleswig Holstein 24105, Germany.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schmalbach
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lang
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D038421:Hemispherectomy; D006801:Humans; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000069283:Rituximab
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D007155:Immunologic Factors; D000069283:Rituximab