SUDDEN STROKE-LIKE ONSET OF HEMIPARESIS DUE TO HERPETIC ENCEPHALITIS

Background/Objective: Herpes simplex encephalitis usually has a progre ssive cause. Sudden neurological deficits are unusual, Method: Case st udy. Results: A 17-year-old girl presented with an acute onset focal n eurological deficit followed one week later by the more classical feat ure of altered level of consciousness, fever and focal seizures, The d iagnosis of hepetic encephalitis was made by magnetic resonance imagin g (MRI) and by the significant increase in cerebrospinal fluid titres of antibodies against herpes simplex type I. Conclusion: Herpetic ence phalitis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of-acute s troke in young patients even in the absence of encephalitic features, if common etiological factors such as embolization and intracerebral b leed are excluded.