Bilateral Presentation of Rasmussen’s Encephalitis: Case Report Responding to Drug Therapy and Comprehensive Review
Author(s): Lourdes de Fatima Ibanez Valdes and Humberto Foyaca Sibat*
Abstract
Rasmussen’s Encephalitis (RE) stands as a very uncommon neurological condition marked by refractory epilepsy to Antiepileptic Drugs (AED) typically emerging during childhood, marked by a progressive unilateral hemispheric degeneration of the brain leading to a gradual cerebral hemiatrophy which is increasingly recognised as an autoimmune mediated disorder. Despite extensive investigations, the actual aetiology of RE remains elusive, while its histopathological features encompass neuronal degeneration, cortical inflammation and involvement of the supporting cells. We hypothesised about the underlying molecular mechanisms, which have been largely unexplored. We report a patient presenting pathological involvement of the bilateral cerebral hemisphere who has remained seizure-free for over six months under Antiepileptic Drugs (AED) and is also experiencing mild motor improvement. We searched comprehensively the medical literature and we did not identify a similar case.
