Herpes encephalitis ending in autism. Also a case of developing autism at age 31

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Arch Neurol. 1981 Mar;38(3):191-4.

Acquired reversible autistic syndrome in acute encephalopathic illness in

children.

DeLong GR, Bean SC, Brown FR 3rd.

In seeking the neurologic substrate of the autistic syndrome of childhood,

previous studies have implicated the medial temporal lobe or the ring of

mesolimbic cortex located in the mesial frontal and temporal lobes. During

an acute encephalopathic illness, a clinical picture developed in three

children that was consistent with infantile autism. This development was

reversible. It was differentiated from acquired epileptic aphasia, and the

language disorder was differentiated aphasia. One child has rises in serum

herpes simplex titers, and a computerized tomographic (CT) scan revealed an

extensive lesion of the temporal lobes, predominantly on the left. The other

two, with similar clinical syndromes, had normal CT scans, and no etiologic

agent was defined. These cases are examples of an acquired and reversible

autistic syndrome in childhood, emphasizing the clinical similarities to

bilateral medial temporal lobe disease as described in man, including the

Kluver-Bucy syndrome seen in postencephalitic as well as postsurgical

states.

Publication Types:case ReportsPMID: 6162440

J Autism Dev Disord. 1986 Sep;16(3):369-75.

Onset at age 14 of a typical autistic syndrome. A case report of a girl with

herpes simplex encephalitis.

Gillberg C.Publication Types:Case Reports pMID: 3558293

Dev Med Child Neurol. 1991 Oct;33(10):920-4

Autistic syndrome with onset at age 31 years: herpes encephalitis as a

possible model for childhood autism.

Gillberg IC.Department of Pediatrics and Child Psychiatry, University of

Goteborg, Sweden.

The author describes a previously healthy man who contracted herpes

encephalitis at the age of 31 years, and over the following months developed

all the symptoms considered diagnostic of autism. This case report casts

doubt on the notion of autism as an exclusively developmental disorder. It

is suggested that temporal lobe damage may cause autism in some cases.PMID:

1743418

Can J Psychiatry. 1991 Nov;36(9):686-92.

Autism: its primary psychological and neurological deficit.

Fotheringham JB.Department of Psychiatry, Queen's University, Kingston,

Ontario.

Autism is a perplexing condition because of its unique presenting signs and

high degree of variability. Evidence is presented that the basic underlying

information processing disorder is a dysfunction of the appreciation of the

emotional significance of incoming stimuli and attaching motivational value

to the stimuli. It is proposed that this dysfunction occurs when the

amygdaloid nucleus and/or its connections are disrupted, resulting in the

variability of the presentation of this syndrome among individuals. Herpes

simplex encephalitis sometimes results in signs of autism. The virus has a

predilection to attack specific areas of the brain, which provides

information on the probable underlying neurological dysfunction in autism.

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2002 Jun;11(3):142-6.

Autistic symptoms following herpes encephalitis.

Ghaziuddin M, Al-Khouri I, Ghaziuddin N.Division of Child and Adolescent

Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor 48109-0390,

USA. mghaziud@...

Autism is a childhood onset neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by

reciprocal social deficits, communication impairment, and rigid ritualistic

interests, with the onset almost always before three years of age. Although

the etiology of the disorder is strongly influenced by genes, environmental

factors are also important. In this context, several reports have described

its association with known medical conditions, including infections

affecting the central nervous system. In this report, we describe an

11-year-old Asian youngster who developed the symptoms of autism following

an episode of herpes encephalitis. In contrast to previous similar reports,

imaging studies suggested a predominant involvement of the frontal lobes. At

follow-up after three years, he continued to show the core deficits of

autism. This case further supports the role of environmental factors, such

as infections, in the etiology of autism, and suggests that in a minority of

cases, autistic symptoms can develop in later childhood.PMID: 12369775

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