title: Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis presenting as rapidly progressive young-onset dementia.
abstract: Onset of dementia before 65 years of age is termed as young-onset dementia (YOD). Very little literature exists regarding the clinical features and diagnoses of dementia in younger individuals. We present a case series of four patients of age 10 to 23 years with severe dementia within 18 months of clinical onset (rapidly progressive dementia). Three patients had generalised periodic complexes typical of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) on electroencephalogram (EEG). All patients had elevated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) IgG measles antibodies. Our case series highlights that SSPE is an important cause of rapidly progressive YOD in developing countries like India.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Topiwala National Medical College, BYL Nair Charitable Hospital, Mumbai Central, Mumbai, India. drchakorrt@yahoo.com.in
authors.forename: Rahul Tryambak
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Chakor
authors.forename: Nandanavana Subbareddy
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Santosh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D018450:Disease Progression; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D013344:Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult