What caused the 1918–30 Epidemic of Encephalitis Lethargica?
| Autor: | R R Dourmashkin |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1997 |
| Předmět: |
Pathology
medicine.medical_specialty Pediatrics Letter Tics Disease Outbreaks Central nervous system disease 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine medicine Paralysis Humans Encephalitis Viral 030212 general & internal medicine Epidemic encephalitis business.industry Research Parkinsonism Postencephalitic parkinsonism Encephalitis Arbovirus General Medicine Encephalitis lethargica History 20th Century medicine.disease 030227 psychiatry Chronic Disease medicine.symptom business Encephalitis Research Article |
| Zdroj: | Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 90:515-520 |
| ISSN: | 1758-1095 0141-0768 1918-1930 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/014107689709000916 |
| Popis: | Encephalitis lethargica, often called epidemic encephalitis at the time of the epidemic, was prevalent worldwide during the years 1918-1930. The acute phase, characterized by somnolence and a mask-like facial appearance, was associated with a 20-40% mortality. Later in the epidemic, almost all those who had had an acute episode of encephalitis lethargica developed sequelae to a greater or lesser degree. In some cases, the symptoms persisted without respite to the chronic state; in others they developed weeks, months or years after the patient was thought to have recovered. The outstanding motor manifestation was the parkinsonian syndrome, present in almost every case. This resembled the picture of Parkinson's disease (paralysis agitans), except that the 'pill-rolling' movement typical of Parkinson's disease was often absent; the tremor in postencephalitic parkinsonism was usually coarse. The common general features of the latter were rigidity of all the muscles, loss of automatic or synergistic movements, loss of equilibrium, and a running or shuffling gait. Oculogyric crises were an important feature. There were mental changes, especially in children, and respiratory tics were often noted2. Sometimes signs of pyramidal tract damage were found3. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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