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What is Encephalitis? |
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Symptoms
The term encephalitis itself means a brain inflammation, and most cases of the condition are due to a viral outbreak which causes an infection. Encephalitis seldom develops into life-threatening and severe forms, but specialists believe that the incidence of such are much higher than reported, since many people experience the slightest indications that they go unrecognized. These usually involve mild and transient headaches, irritability, and sleepiness. A person with severe encephalitis may experience drowsiness, convulsions, disorientation, an abrupt fever or an extreme headache, queasiness and vomiting, and in infants, a bulge on the soft area of the skull. Urgent indications in adults may involve alterations in consciousness and even mental dysfunctions.
Causes
Encephalitis usually has a viral cause, and a case may be identified as any of two categories. Primary encephalitis involves a direct viral infection of the person’s brain and spinal cord, and may either occur at any given period (sporadic) or as part of a viral outbreak (epidemic). Secondary encephalitis involves an indirect infection; the virus first multiplies on other areas of the body before it spreads and infects the brain. Viruses such as the Herpes simplex, Varicella-zoster, and Epstein-Barr viruses are the most common causes of primary encephalitis. Measles and mumps can also cause the secondary form of the condition, even after the person is vaccinated against it, but theses occur rarely. Arbovirus strains cause epidemic encephalitis, and animals and insects (birds or mosquitoes) serve as carriers for them.
Diagnosis
One of the diagnostic techniques which are used for encephalitis is a spinal tap, wherein a needle is introduced into the patient’s lumber area (the lower spine), and a sample of the spinal fluid is extracted for lab evaluation. A sample which contains high levels of white blood cells may indicate an infection. An EEG (Electroencephalography) may also be employed to analyze electrical activity in the brain. Electrodes are attached to the patient’s scalp, the brain is stimulated by flashing light on the patient’s eyes, and the electrodes register the impulses on an apparatus. Imaging equipment (CT and MRI scans) can also reveal inflammation or concussions on the brain; if the patient is already suspected to have encephalitis, a brain scan may be done prior to a spinal tap. Blood testing is the first recourse for arboviruses, and in rare cases when imaging and DNA diagnostics can’t detect a herpes simplex encephalitis, a brain biopsy may be performed.
Treatment Info
Patients with mild cases of encephalitis need only plenty of bed rest and a healthy diet in order to overcome the virus. Fluid intake must be increased, and acetaminophen may be taken for the fever and migraine. The swollenness on the skull can be relieved with anti-inflammatory medication, and if seizures are part of the symptom, anticonvulsant drugs may be prescribed. The patient may then be rehabilitated with physical therapy. Encephalitis can be quite hard to treat since most viruses do not react to medication; but some strains, such as the herpes simplex and varicella-zoster viruses, do respond to antiviral medicines like acyclovir and ganciclovir.
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