Rasmussen syndrome and long-term response to thalidomide

We report a 13-year-old female who experienced symptoms and signs of Rasmussen encephalitis for the first time at the age of 5 years. Various therapeutic procedures, including conventional and new antiepileptic drugs, steroids, immunoglobulin, plasma exchanges, and partial hemispherectomy, were appl...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pediatric neurology 2003-08, Vol.29 (2), p.151-156
Main Authors: Marjanovic, Borivoj D, Stojanov, Ljubomir M, Zdravkovic, Dragan S, Kravljanac, Ruzica M, Djordjevic, Maja S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Anticonvulsants - adverse effects
Anticonvulsants - therapeutic use
Biological and medical sciences
Brain - drug effects
Brain - physiopathology
Electroencephalography
Encephalitis - drug therapy
Female
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Medical sciences
Multiple sclerosis and variants. Guillain barré syndrome and other inflammatory polyneuropathies. Leukoencephalitis
Neurology
Seizures - drug therapy
Thalidomide - adverse effects
Thalidomide - therapeutic use
Treatment Outcome
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We report a 13-year-old female who experienced symptoms and signs of Rasmussen encephalitis for the first time at the age of 5 years. Various therapeutic procedures, including conventional and new antiepileptic drugs, steroids, immunoglobulin, plasma exchanges, and partial hemispherectomy, were applied, but their results were unsatisfactory. During one of the exacerbations, when the patient’s life was endangered, thalidomide was administered. Frequency and intensity of epileptic seizures were reduced significantly, and the quality of her life improved. Except for moderate neutropenia, the other adverse effects were not recognized. In our opinion, thalidomide is not a first-choice drug for Rasmussen encephalitis but is a good alternative only for cases refractory to other well-known and accepted therapeutic procedures.
ISSN:0887-8994
1873-5150
DOI:10.1016/S0887-8994(03)00216-9