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Encephalitis

Causes and symptoms of encephalitis


What is encephalitis?

Encephalitis – brain damage, leading to its inflammation. Cause infectious encephalitis, infectious-allergic, allergic, and toxic factors. There is a primary (independent) and secondary encephalitis. The second type occurs in the background of various diseases (influenza, toxoplasmosis, measles, osteomyelitis, etc.); the first type involves the epidemic, mosquito, tick, enterovirus and herpes encephalitis.

When encephalitis affects the gray matter of the brain, it is called paleoencephalon; in the case of lesions of the white matter – leukoencephalitis; panencephalitis – the defeat of the white and gray substances.

Depending on the disease encephalitis is divided into acute, subacute and chronic.


Causes of encephalitis

The most common cause of encephalitis be a virus neuroinfections, sometimes encephalitis occur as a complication of various infectious diseases.

The etiology of encephalitis depends on its type and shape.

A primary cause of viral encephalitis can become infected insects (ticks, mosquitoes), Coxsackie virus, herpes, influenza or rabies. Microbial encephalitis causes syphilis and typhus. Secondary encephalitis can develop due to measles, smallpox, rubella, malaria, toxoplasmosis or as a complication of vaccination (DPT, smallpox, rabies vaccine).

The virus enters the human body in different ways. The bite of a mosquito or tick it through the blood vessels into the organs and brain. Also the virus is transmitted by contact, alimentary and airborne droplets.


Symptoms of encephalitis

The symptoms of encephalitis depend on many factors: the causative agent of the disease, its pathology, course and location. However, there are types of encephalitis symptoms.

Like most infectious diseases, encephalitis, accompanied by fever, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and upper respiratory tract. The patient suffer from headaches, vomiting, characteristic epileptic seizures and fear of light. When encephalitis occur disturbances of consciousness, starting with lethargy and sleepiness, and ending with coma. Sometimes the disease causes psychomotor agitation (restlessness, fidgetiness, disruptive actions) and psychosensory disorders (violationperception size, shape, location of objects).

Sometimes encephalitis takes place in asymptomatic, abortive, or lightning forms. Asymptomatic forms occur with a mild headache, fever and dizziness. The abortive form is manifested by symptoms characteristic of acute respiratory or gastrointestinal infection. Lightning is the most dangerous form of encephalitis. It takes place in a period of from several hours to couple of days and ends in death. Patients show high fever, severe headache, and they fall into a coma. Death usually occurs from congestive heart failure.

Types of encephalitis

Epidemic encephalitis Economo (encephalitis Lethargica A) occurs because of a virus transmitted by airborne droplets and by contact. This type of encephalitis is characterized for all ages. Body temperature rapid rises to 39-40 °C, the patient feels severe headache, lethargy, joint pain, consciousness is disturbed. Also symptoms are prolonged sleep disorder (hypersomnia, insomnia), tachycardia, a rhythm disturbance of breath, sweating. As a result, oculomotor disorders develop strabismus, paralysis of the eyes, diplopia. Often there are mental disorders, the patient is delirious or in a state of euphoria.

Tick-borne encephalitis attributable to primary viral encephalitis the spring-summer season. The carrier of the virus is an infected tick, found in the taiga forests. The virus enters the human body by a tick bite. The disease begins with severe headache, vomiting, fever and photophobia. May experience seizures, epilepsy, paralysis of the neck.

Japanese encephalitis (encephalitis) is transmitted by infected mosquitoes. The virus can also be people and birds. The incubation period lasts from 3 to 27 days. The disease starts with high fever (above 40 °C), chills, nausea and vomiting, muscle weakness and pain. Disturbed consciousness, possible seizures, twitching of extremities, cranial nerves (bulbar palsy). The lethal outcome is possible in 50 % of cases, most often, the death occurs within one week.

Flu (toxic hemorrhagic) encephalitis occurs against a background of influenza. Symptoms are severe headache, nausea,dizziness, muscle pain, weight loss, sleep disorders. Is an inflammatory disease of the brain may lead to epileptic seizures, paralysis or coma.

Measles encephalitis (encephalomyelitis) may appear 3-5 days after a measles rash. The General condition of the patient deteriorates, the temperature rises, weakness, and drowsiness may go into hibernation (suporosna state) or coma. Sometimes, on the contrary, the patients overly excited, delirious, they have epileptic seizures. The disease affects the cranial nerves, especially the optic and facial, you may experience paralysis, chorea, ataxia, transverse myelitis.

Encephalitis with the chicken pox and rubella manifests in the second or eighth day of the disease. The nervous system is affected, the person becomes sluggish, lethargic, observed epileptic seizures, paralysis of the extremities, coordination of movements is broken.

Herpetic encephalitis is caused by herpes virus. It affects the cerebral cortex and white matter. This virus can persist in the body for a long time, so herpes encephalitis is a slow infection. The acute form of the disease is characterized by fever, headache, vomiting, disturbance of consciousness, seizures. Due to lesions of the nervous system a person loses orientation in space and time, his movements are chaotic, there are aphasia and apraxia.

Pricesonly encephalitis is a national group of encephalitis, the etiology of which is unclear. The disease is manifested by lesions of the facial, oculomotor and abducent nerves; possible seizures, paralysis, hyperkinesis, impaired consciousness leading to stupor or coma.

Toxoplasmosis encephalitis in the acute condition is quite rare and is characterized by an increase in temperature. In the background of this form of encephalitis, developed pneumonia, myocarditis, pharyngitis, conjunctivitis, and monocytosis.


Treatment of encephalitis

If the patient was diagnosed with encephalitis, it should be immediately hospitalized. Human infectious or placed in a specialized neurological Department and prescribed strict bed rest and constant supervision.

Tick-borne and Japanese encephalitis, a mosquito at the initial stages are treated donor gamma globulin, injected interferon and other antiviral drugs. Antibiotics used for purulent meningoencephalitis. Patients undergo detoxification and dehydration therapy, prescribed ascorbic acid, trental and calcium Supplement. Edema of the brain are used corticosteroids. Sometimes encephalitis causes respiratory failure and patientstransferred to artificial lung ventilation. Also, when shown encephalitis remedy against cramps, analgesics; recommended massage and therapeutic exercise.