Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (sspe)

[Gregory]

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a progressive and usually fatal brain disorder, is a rare complication of measles that appears months or years later and causes mental deterioration, muscle jerks, and seizures.

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis is caused by the measles virus.
The first symptoms are usually poor school performance, forgetfulness, temper outbursts, distractibility, sleeplessness, and hallucinations.
The diagnosis is based on symptoms.
This disorder is usually fatal.
There is no treatment for subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis results from a long-term brain infection with the measles virus. The virus sometimes enters the brain during a measles infection. It may cause immediate symptoms of brain infection (encephalitis), or it may remain in the brain for a long time without causing problems.
Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis occurs because the measles virus reactivates. In the past in the United States, for reasons that are not known, the disorder occurred in about 7 to 300 people per million people who had measles infection and in about 1 person per million people who received the measles vaccine. However, doctors think the people who developed subacute sclerosing panencephalitis after vaccination likely had a mild, undiagnosed case of measles before they were vaccinated and that the vaccine did not cause the subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.
Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis is rare in the United States and Western Europe because of widespread measles vaccination. However, analyses of more recent measles outbreaks suggest that the incidence of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis may be higher than previously thought.
Males are affected more often than females. The risk of developing subacute sclerosing panencephalitis is highest in people who contract measles before they are 2 years of age. Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis usually begins in children or young adults, usually before age 20.