Encephalitis

From MEpedia, a crowd-sourced encyclopedia of ME and CFS science and history
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.

Encephalitis is the inflammation of the brain by blood-borne immune cells. It is not to be confused with neuroinflammation, which is the modern inflammation of the nervous system by tissue-resident immune cells. Unlike with neuroinflammation, encephalitis is associated with swelling of the brain and can be detected using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).[citation needed]

Encephalitis is normally caused by a virus, vaccine or when something else that causes inflammation.[1] Encephalomyelitis is when the inflammation affects the spinal cord as well as the brain.[1]

Viral encephalitis[edit | edit source]

More than 90% of viral encephalitis is caused by herpes simplex virus (HSV), varicella-zoster virus (VZV), and enteroviruses.[2]

List of all known viruses associated with encephalitis:

Prevalence[edit | edit source]

Symptom recognition[edit | edit source]

Research[edit | edit source]

In 2020, the Open Medicine Foundation announced a study investigating brain fog in patients with herpes simplex encephalitis, including following those patients over time to see which developed ME/CFS.

Notable studies[edit | edit source]

Possible causes[edit | edit source]

See also[edit | edit source]

Learn more[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Encephalitis - Brain, Spinal Cord, and Nerve Disorders". MSD Manual Consumer Version. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  2. Venkatesan, Arun; Geocadin, Romergryko G. (June 2014). "Diagnosis and management of acute encephalitis". Neurology: Clinical Practice. 4 (3): 206–215. doi:10.1212/CPJ.0000000000000036. ISSN 2163-0402. PMC 4121461. PMID 25110619.
  3. World Health Organization. "ICD-11 - Mortality and Morbidity Statistics". icd.who.int. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  4. World Health Organization. "ICD-11 - Mortality and Morbidity Statistics". International Classification of Diseases. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  5. Services, Department of Health & Human. "Viral encephalitis". betterhealth.vic.gov.au. Retrieved July 31, 2020.