inclusion body encephalitis
Noun: A rare, chronic, and progressive viral encephalitis caused by the measles virus, primarily affecting children and young adults. The disease is characterized by a history of primary measles infection before the age of two years, and death usually occurs within three years of onset.
This is a highly specific medical term. It is used in clinical, neurological, and pathological contexts to describe this particular form of brain inflammation. * The autopsy confirmed the diagnosis of inclusion body encephalitis. * Inclusion body encephalitis is a devastating complication of early childhood measles infection.
The term is often used in its full form for precision. In medical literature, it may be associated with specific pathological findings. * The inclusion bodies observed in the neurons are a hallmark of the disease, giving it its name. * Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is the more common clinical name for inclusion body encephalitis.
- Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE): The more frequently used clinical name for this condition.
- Encephalitis: General term for inflammation of the brain.
- Inclusion body: A microscopic structure within a cell, often composed of viral proteins, characteristic of certain infections like this one.
- Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE)
- Dawson's encephalitis (historical term)
This term has a single, specific medical meaning. It is not used in general or figurative language. The "inclusion body" component refers strictly to the distinctive cellular structures found in infected brain tissue.
- a rare chronic progressive encephalitis caused by the measles virus and occurring primarily in children and young adults; death usually occurs within three years; characterized by primary measles infection before the age of two years