Varicella-associated acute necrotizing encephalopathy with a good prognosis

A patient with acute necrotizing encephalophathy (ANE) following varicella infection with a good prognosis is reported. A somatosensory evoked magneti c field (SEF) study using a 37-channel-magnetoencephalography system demons trated normal latency and strength of the first component (N20m) elicited b y median nerve stimulation, despite bilateral symmetrical thalamic lesions on MRI. The normal SEF findings and the good prognosis suggested a reversib le breakdown of the blood-brain barrier, and an edematous process as the br ain pathology. Furthermore, our results support the idea of distinct genera tors for the three earliest cortical SEF components (N20m, P30m, N45m). (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.