Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1)--induced retinitis following herpes simplex encephalitis: indications for brain-to-eye transmission of HSV-1.

Maertzdorf, J; Van der Lelij, A; Baarsma, G S; Osterhaus, A D; Verjans, G M · Ann Neurol · 2000

case_report · Level V

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Abstract

Herpes simplex encephalitis is a severe neurological disease with high mortality and morbidity rates. Reactivated herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) can cause relapses and might even spread to the retina, where it can induce a potentially blinding eye disease, known as acute retinal necrosis. In the present study, the HSV-1 strains in the brain and eye of 2 patients with acute retinal necrosis following an episode of herpes simplex encephalitis were genotyped. The HSV-1 strains in both the brain and eye were identical in each patient, but they differed interindividually. The data suggest brain-to-eye transmission of HSV-1 in these patients.

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