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Encephalitis lethargica ( EL) is an atypical form of encephalitis. Also known as " von Economo Encephalitis", " sleeping sickness" or " sleepy sickness" (distinct from tsetse fly–transmitted sleeping sickness), it was first described in 1917 by neurologist Constantin von Economo and pathologist Jean-René Cruchet. The disease attacks the brain, leaving some victims in a statue-like condition, speechless and motionless. Between 1915 and 1926, an epidemic of encephalitis lethargica spread around the world. The exact number of people infected is unknown, but it is estimated that more than one million people contracted the disease during the epidemic, which directly caused more than 500,000 deaths. Most of those who survived never recovered their pre-morbid vigour.
Parkinsonism, upper body weakness, muscular pains, tremors, neck rigidity, and behavioral changes including psychosis. Klazomania, a vocal tic involving compulsive screaming, is sometimes present.
Approximately a third of the affected children experienced change of behavior, with many of them becoming "delinquents". Boys between the ages of 5 and 18 years were the most affected. Symptoms include change of personality, restlessness, irregular sleeping habits, emotional instability manifesting as irritability, crying spells, and temper tantrums, including impulsivity, and unpredictability, what Economo described as "moral insanity". More extreme cases include aggression and "shameless sexual activity". Children under the age of 5 years suffered severe developmental delays. Delays were also present in children between 5 and 14 years of age, even though the claims are controversial.
It is estimated that 25–90% of adults also suffered from psychological problems, including hysteria and abnormal behavior and movement. A large minority of patients described having bradyphrenia.
Postencephalitic Parkinsonism was clearly documented to have followed an outbreak of encephalitis lethargica following the 1918 influenza pandemic; evidence for viral causation of the Parkinson's symptoms is circumstantial (epidemiology, and finding influenza in encephalitis lethargica patients), while evidence arguing against this cause is of the negative sort (for example, lack of RNA virus in postencephalitic Parkinsonian brain material).
In reviewing the relationship between influenza and encephalitis lethargica (EL), McCall and coauthors conclude, as of 2008, that "the case against influenza is less decisive than currently perceived ... yet there is little direct evidence supporting influenza in the etiology of EL," and that "almost 100 years after the EL epidemic, its etiology remains enigmatic."
The German neurologist , who examined hundreds of encephalitis lethargica patients during the 1920s, noted that their encephalitis lethargica typically evolved over time:
In 2010, in a substantial compendium reviewing the historic and contemporary views on EL, it quotes a researcher, writing in 1930, who stated, "we must confess that etiology is still obscure, the causative agent still unknown, the pathological riddle still unsolved", and went on to offer the following conclusion, as of that publication date:
After the publication of this compendium, an enterovirus was discovered in encephalitis lethargica cases from the epidemic.
There is little evidence so far of a consistent effective treatment for the initial stages, though some patients given steroids have seen improvement. The disease becomes progressive, with evidence of brain damage similar to that of Parkinson's disease.
Treatment is then symptomatic. L-DOPA (Levodopa) and other anti-Parkinson drugs often produce dramatic responses; however, most people given L-DOPA experience improvements that are short-lived.
Neurologist Constantin von Economo published a paper in April 1917 describing some of the cases he encountered in the winter months of 1916–1917. These patients, despite varying diagnoses, had a similar pattern of symptoms which led von Economo to suggest a novel disease, which he called Encephalitis Lethargica. In France, physician Jean-René Cruchet was experiencing something similar, and he published his findings within a few days of von Economo.After these two, many more reports began being released about the disease, starting in Europe before moving around the globe.
Until Constantin von Economo identified a unique pattern of damage among the brains of deceased patients and introduced the unifying name encephalitis lethargica, reports of the protean disease came in under a range of names: botulism, toxic ophthalmoplegia, epidemic stupor, epidemic lethargic encephalitis, acute polioencephalitis, Heine-Medin disease, bulbar paralysis, hystero-epilepsy, acute dementia, and sometimes just "an obscure disease with cerebral symptoms". Just 10 days before von Economo's breakthrough in Vienna, Jean-René Cruchet described 40 cases of "subacute encephalomyelitis" in France.
The number of people infected during the ten years of the pandemic is unknown, but it is estimated that more than 1 million people contracted the disease, which directly caused more than 500,000 deaths. Encephalitis lethargica assumed its most virulent form between October 1918 and January 1919.
In the United States, the epidemic peaked from 1920 to 1924. It is estimated that as many as one million people were diagnosed with encephalitis lethargica during the epidemic period.
The pandemic disappeared in 1927, as abruptly and mysteriously as it first appeared. The great encephalitis pandemic coincided with the Spanish flu, and the influenza virus likely potentiated the effects of the causative agent of the encephalitis or lowered resistance to it in a catastrophic way.
Post-encephalitic syndromes varied widely: sometimes they proceeded rapidly, leading to profound disability or death; sometimes very slowly; sometimes they progressed to a certain point and then stayed at this point for years or decades; and sometimes, following their initial onslaught, they remitted and disappeared. It is also known to cause postencephalitic parkinsonism (PEP). Though often thought of as a disease of the past, it is still seen in occasional cases today.
If patients of Stern followed this course of disease, he diagnosed them with encephalitis lethargica. Stern suspected encephalitis lethargica to be close to poliomyelitis, but had no evidence. Nevertheless, he experimented with the antiserum of survivors of the first acute syndrome. He vaccinated patients with early-stage symptoms, telling them that it might be successful. Stern is the author of the definitive book, Die Epidemische Encephalitis.
Diagnosis
There have been several proposed diagnostic criteria for encephalitis lethargica. One, which has been widely accepted, includes an acute or subacute encephalitic illness where all other known causes of encephalitis have been excluded. Another diagnostic criterion, suggested more recently, says that the diagnosis of encephalitis lethargica "may be considered if the patient's condition cannot be attributed to any other known neurological condition and that they show the following signs: influenza-like signs; hypersomnolence (hypersomnia), wakeability, ophthalmoplegia (paralysis of the muscles that control the movement of the eye), and psychiatric changes".
Treatment
Modern treatment approaches to encephalitis lethargica include immunomodulating therapies and treatments to remediate specific symptoms.
History
Occurrences
Retrospective diagnosis tentatively suggests various historical outbreaks of encephalitis lethargica:
Pandemic of 1915–1927
In the winter of 1916–1917, a "new" illness suddenly appeared in Vienna and other cities, and rapidly spread worldwide over the next three years. Earlier reports appeared throughout Europe as early as the winter of 1915–1916, but communication about the disease was slow and chaotic, given the varied manifestation of symptoms and difficulties disseminating information in wartime; it was officially recognized as a distinct disease in 1917. Some authors define the span of the outbreak as being from 1918 to 1930.
Aftermath
Many survivors of the 1915–1927 pandemic seemed to make a complete recovery and return to their normal lives. However, the majority of survivors subsequently developed neurological or psychiatric disorders, often after years or decades of seemingly perfect health.
Notable cases
Notable cases include:
See also
Further reading
(2025). 9780190452209, Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190452209
External links
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