title: A serial ¹⁸FDG-PET study of a patient with SSPE who had good prognosis by combination therapy with interferon alpha and ribavirin.
abstract: We describe a 15-year-old girl with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) in stage II who was treated with isoprinosine, intraventricular interferon alpha (IFN-α), and ribavirin for 3 years. She is alive at three years from onset and studies at school with the assistance of a special educational teacher. To assess residual brain function, serial (18)FDG-positron emission tomography (PET) was performed three times to measure cortical metabolism: at onset, a year later, and three years later. At onset, PET study revealed preserved glucose metabolism of the cerebral cortex. In serial PET study, glucose metabolism of the cerebral cortex was also preserved even after three years. Although SSPE is a progressive disease of the neuronal system, and typically leads to death in approximately 2-3 years, the neurological prognosis of our case was good. We consider that combination therapy in the very early stage without hypometabolism in the cerebral cortex may be effective for SSPE.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohya
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan. Electronic address: yushiro@med.kurume-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yushiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Ikuhiko
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Shibuya
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Munetsugu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nagamitsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Hayato
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kaida
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kurata
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Masatoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ishibashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Toyojiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsuishi
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects; D002648:Child; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013344:Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D012254:Ribavirin
keywords: (18)FDG-PET; Interferon-α; Prognosis; Ribavirin; SSPE