The specifics of the treatment of herpes of the brain, its types and symptoms. Herpes in the brain: how to recognize? Symptoms and signs of herpes brain treatment

Herpetic encephalitis ranks first in prevalence among infectious lesions of the brain. In half of the cases, it affects children and young people under 20 years of age, as well as the older age group after 50 years of age. Prior to the use of Acyclovir, the mortality rate reached 70%, at the moment this figure is 28%. The disease has a severe course and is often accompanied by neurological complications.

Why does herpes affect the brain

According to statistics, about 80% of the population are carriers of the herpes simplex virus. The main clinical manifestations of the infection are characteristic rashes on the lips, less often on the genitals. For unknown reasons, the virus infects the brain in some people.. The mechanism of the development of the disease is explained by two theories:

1. The virus penetrates through the mucous membranes, along the nerve processes reaches the vegetative nodes. There, the pathogen replicates, and it enters the brain along the nerve fibers.
2. The virus also reaches the nerve nodes, goes into a latent state. An inactive infectious agent is transferred to the brain tissue, where it is activated and starts the entire pathological process.

The development of herpetic meningoencephalitis in a third of all cases occurs after the first contact with the virus. In 2/3 of patients, encephalitis develops as a reactivation of a latent infection.

In a dormant state, the viral agent is located in the bulb of the olfactory trigeminal nerve. It spreads along it to the temporal and frontal lobes of the brain. This explains the main symptoms of the disease and the formation of foci of necrosis only in these areas.

But meningoencephalitis caused by herpes does not develop in all infected people. It has been established that there is a predisposing factor in the form of innate features of the immune system. The reason lies in the mutation or deficiency of some genes. Acquired immunodeficiency or a decrease in immunity as a result of taking medications rarely leads to herpes encephalitis.

How to recognize pathology

The incubation period lasts from 2 to 14 days. After it, a prodromal period is characteristic, in which signs of general malaise, weakness, and a decrease in working capacity appear. Herpes acute encephalitis of the brain develops with the following symptoms:

Sometimes convulsions and loss of consciousness precede the rise in temperature. The disease is accompanied by additional neurological signs that do not appear in every patient. There may be paresis of the oculomotor nerves, unilateral paralysis, various types of aphasia. Patients confuse words, cannot verbally express their thoughts, the writing technique is violated. Some have difficulty in manipulating objects, cannot perform small movements with their hands. Sometimes disturbed by olfactory hallucinations, disorientation in space and time, amnesia. Personality changes are often observed.

Encephalitis in children

The virus can be transmitted to a newborn child during childbirth or in utero, much less often after birth. Signs of encephalitis appear during the first month of life. The rate of development of symptoms depends on the characteristics of the child's body, full-term.

The most severe symptoms are recorded in premature babies.. A violation of the respiratory function, swallowing reflex may develop, convulsions appear. There are no rashes on the skin.

In older children, a clinical picture is observed that resembles the course of the disease in adults. The prognosis of the disease is not always favorable. The consequences may be:

• mental retardation;
• blindness;
• deafness;
• hydrocephalus;
• muscle spasticity.

Often, children who have had an illness remain disabled.

Diagnostic methods

It is impossible to diagnose herpetic encephalitis, based only on complaints and the clinical picture. Be sure to conduct a deep examination, the purpose of which is the differentiation of the causative agent of the disease.

Most often, for the diagnosis of herpetic meningoencephalitis, a lumbar puncture is used, followed by a study of the cerebrospinal fluid by PCR. When analyzing the cerebrospinal fluid, an increased number of leukocytes is determined. Liquor instead of transparent becomes xanthochromic - a special shade of yellow. It increases the content of protein and glucose.

A portion of the cerebrospinal fluid is sent for PCR diagnostics. The purpose of the study is to detect the DNA of herpes 1, 2 types.

In the first 72 hours after the onset of clinical symptoms, PCR may give a false negative result. If there are characteristic signs of brain damage with herpes and MRI data, a second puncture is prescribed on the 4th day of the disease.

Be sure to conduct neuroimaging of the brain. The most specific method is MRI. CT during the first day has a sensitivity of less than 50%, so it is not advisable to use it.

If it is not possible to perform MRI and CT, an EEG is performed. This method has a higher sensitivity than computed tomography, but is not specific enough. The encephalitic recording corresponds to high-amplitude sharp waves and slow wave complexes that are observed in the temporal leads. If a normal EEG is recorded from the first days of the disease, then this is a favorable prognostic sign.

Virological testing is not carried out. This is a very long and expensive method, which is based on growing the virus on special nutrient media. Serological diagnostics is not used due to low objectivity and accuracy.

General blood tests are carried out, in which signs of inflammation are observed - an increase in the number of leukocytes, an acceleration of ESR.

Therapy Methods

Herpesvirus treatment is carried out in the intensive care unit in the intensive care unit. The main drug is Acyclovir. Other antiviral agents (Famciclovir) are also used. Medicines in large doses are administered intravenously.

The management of complications includes the administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics to prevent the development of a bacterial infection in a bedridden patient. The rest of the therapy is symptomatic. Assign a drip of water-salt solutions, glucose to maintain brain function, correct the basic balance and detoxification. Constantly monitor cardiac activity, respiratory function, take measures to prevent cerebral edema. If necessary, carry out artificial ventilation of the lungs.

With a convulsive syndrome, anticonvulsants are used, they are struggling with a febrile state. During the recovery period, neuroprotectors, nootropics and vitamins are needed. Depending on the degree of impaired brain function, classes with a speech therapist, a rehabilitation doctor may be required. In 1-2% of patients, the transferred disease passes without consequences. In other cases, there are persistent residual effects.

Exposure to the incurable herpes simplex virus causes not only the well-known and relatively harmless colds on the lips, shingles and chickenpox, but also such a serious illness as herpes of the brain. Delayed treatment leads to the death of the patient.

Symptoms of pathology

Herpes of the brain is considered a complication of a herpes infection. Among all types of encephalitis, brain herpes accounts for about 11% of cases. The causative agent of the disease is strains 1 and 2 of the herpes simplex virus. The first type of HHV enters the meninges through the mucous membranes of the respiratory organs or the surface of the skin. The microorganism follows the cells in the central nervous system, destroys brain cells. The second type of virus enters the body sexually.

Symptoms of herpes encephalitis are more common in children under 6 years of age and in the elderly. The disease is more often diagnosed in the spring. The stay of the virus until a certain time remains hidden. The immune system protects healthy cells, including neurons, from the active division of herpes.

The development of encephalitis, as a complication of infection, can happen:

• as a result of a traumatic brain injury;
• after a stroke;
• due to disorders in the body associated with a significant decrease in the immune system;
• after diseases caused by a virus (herpes zoster, genital, facial) against a background of weakened immunity.

Symptoms of the disease may vary slightly depending on the degree of damage to the brain tissue. With herpes of the brain, two options are possible:

1. Focal tissue damage. When a virus infects a limited area of ​​gray matter.
2. diffuse inflammation. In this case, the entire brain is destroyed, including the white matter, or a large area of ​​brain tissue in diameter.

Diffuse brain damage occurs mainly in newborns or young children infected with the herpes virus. The virus most often actively multiplies in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, occasionally the disease affects the area that controls breathing and heartbeat.

Symptoms of encephalitis of the brain depend on the degree and site of the lesion. Common signs of inflammation include:

Symptoms of herpes of the brain are difficult to tolerate by children. Due to cerebral edema, the child suffers from seizures, convulsions, headaches. Children lose consciousness, refuse food, begin to be disoriented in time and space. Patients with herpes of the temporal lobe of the brain manifest:

• violations in the work of the vestibular apparatus;
• problems with limb control;
• hallucinations and delusions occur.

Slurred speech, memory lapses, pressure surges, strabismus or a veil before the eyes are typical symptoms of brain tissue inflammation.

Treatment of a herpes infection must begin immediately, otherwise patients fall into a coma, from which they rarely come out healthy.

Treatment methods and complications

The first symptoms of encephalitis require immediate hospitalization of the patient. It is impossible to determine a herpes infection by external signs. In order to prescribe the correct treatment, it is necessary to conduct a diagnosis.

The set of mandatory procedures includes:

• magnetic resonance imaging to determine the area and localization of inflamed areas;
• PCR diagnostics to detect the DNA of the herpes virus (if 10 days have passed since the onset of the disease);
• detailed blood test.

Medical therapy

After the detection of the causative agent of the disease, its variety, treatment is prescribed. The patient is admitted to the intensive care unit because there is a high possibility of respiratory failure. As a rule, the base medicine is the antiviral drug Acyclovir or its derivatives. The drug is administered intravenously in large doses. Treatment lasts at least a week, therapy can be extended up to two weeks.

In parallel, other groups of drugs are used:

Possible consequences

It is most difficult to treat newborns with herpes of the brain. In most cases, babies are born prematurely, with reduced muscle tone, and weak. Herpetic encephalitis leads to the formation of cysts in the temporal and frontal lobes. More than half of children die due to rapidly developing cerebral edema. If the child survives, herpes infection leads to the development of dementia, epilepsy.

The herpes virus is quite common. They infect about 85% of people living on the planet. True, in most cases, the virus is in the human body in an inactive state. Only when certain factors appear that can affect the decrease in the immune defense system, herpes becomes dangerous.

Causes of manifestation and symptoms

Basically, the herpes virus manifests itself in the form of wounds on the lips, mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, sometimes the oral cavity, as well as on the skin and in the genital area. His treatment does not cause any particular difficulties, since it does not take much time and effort. It is enough to apply a special ointment or gel to the affected area for 2-3 weeks, and soon there will be no trace of an unpleasant disease.

Sometimes, to achieve the desired effect, it is necessary to take antiviral drugs orally for some time. But herpes cannot be completely cured.

It remains in the human body forever, from time to time (under favorable circumstances) manifesting itself.

Its most dangerous manifestation is herpetic encephalitis of the brain. This infectious disease is caused by a herpes simplex virus (type 1 or 2), which provokes an inflammatory process. Most often, herpes of the brain occurs in people with weak immunity. The risk group is most often children (under 6 years old) and elderly people (after 55 years old).

Why there is an infection of the brain with the herpes virus is not exactly known. For its development, the presence of such factors is necessary:

1. Penetration of the herpes virus into the body, which is of 2 types: congenital (when the fetus becomes infected while still in the womb) and acquired (enters the body from the external environment through airborne, sexual and other ways).
2. Weakened immunity due to various reasons (due to age, due to a previous illness).

The herpes virus, getting into cells (including neurons), exists in them in an oppressed latent state. When the immune system is weakened, it begins to multiply actively and penetrates through the nerve fibers into the brain, provoking an inflammatory process in it - encephalitis.

Often herpetic encephalitis is localized in the temporal and frontal parts of the brain. It is here that the death of brain cells and the inflammatory process are observed.

The most characteristic symptoms for this disease are:

The occurrence of such symptoms may also indicate the presence of other diseases of the central nervous system. In any case, it is necessary to consult an experienced doctor.

For treatment and getting rid of the body from HERPES, many of our readers actively use the well-known method based on natural ingredients, discovered by Elena Malysheva. We definitely recommend checking it out.

How is the treatment?

For adequate treatment, it is necessary to make the correct diagnosis. To do this, the patient must undergo a series of examinations:

If the diagnosis is confirmed, it is necessary to immediately begin therapy, since this disease is very dangerous for human life.

Treatment is carried out exclusively in a hospital. There is a risk of sudden respiratory arrest, as well as a high probability that the patient may fall into a coma. In such cases, resuscitation is carried out.

Treatment of herpes of the brain consists in the use of medications that are aimed at eliminating the infectious process and associated symptoms. First of all, appoint:

Additionally, a patient with a similar diagnosis is shown strict bed rest, proper nutrition, and plenty of fluids. If he cannot consume food and water on his own, he is prescribed internal administration of drugs that can relieve exhaustion and dehydration.

The course of treatment lasts from 5 days to 2 weeks, depending on the complexity of the disease and the general condition of the patient. A coma significantly reduces the chances of recovery. Only 20-30% of people come out of a coma, a fatal outcome is possible. Therefore, it is very important to diagnose the disease in time.

The danger of the disease and possible complications

Herpetic encephalitis of the brain is a very serious and dangerous disease. Full recovery after it occurs quite rarely - only about 25% of people with such a diagnosis, after undergoing a course of therapy, have the opportunity to lead a full-fledged lifestyle.

Most patients die before they even begin treatment, because the disease comes on suddenly and develops rapidly. But this does not mean that with such a disease, death is an obligatory outcome. Early detection and proper specialized treatment can save the patient both life and health.

Brain damage very rarely resolves without complications. Any violation of its work and functionality leads to irreversible consequences.

Herpetic infection causes an inflammatory process that can lead to pathological conditions in humans:

1. Coma. It greatly complicates the treatment process. Often patients never come out of a coma.
2. Stopping breathing. If the patient is not urgently resuscitated, he may die.
3. Mental deviation. Damage to the brain is accompanied by the destruction of its cells, which leads to a deterioration in its work.
4. Mental disorders. It can be a nervous state, sleep disturbance, prolonged hallucinations, memory lapses.
5. Constant headache that is difficult to relieve.
6. General deterioration of health, weakness, apathy, loss of working capacity.
7. Complete or partial loss of hearing and vision.
8. Violation of the functions of speech.
9. Meningitis.
10. Deterioration or loss of motor activity, paralysis of the whole body or individual limbs.

The recovery of a person with herpetic encephalitis of the brain occurs depending on the severity of the disease.

With its mild forms, the prognosis is often favorable, and the course of therapy lasts no more than a month. Treatment of the advanced stage and severe forms lasts for years.

There are factors that can affect the course of the disease, as well as provoke relapses:

• incorrect or untimely treatment;
• pregnancy;
• stress, mental exhaustion;
• persistent overwork of the body due to physical exertion;
• consumption of alcoholic beverages, junk food.

In any case, herpetic encephalitis of the brain is not a death sentence. Timely diagnosis and proper treatment under the supervision of an experienced specialist give positive results. The main thing is not to panic and not self-medicate.

Feedback from our reader - Alexandra Mateveyeva

I recently read an article that talks about Father George's Monastic collection for the treatment and prevention of Herpes. With the help of this drug, you can FOREVER get rid of HERPES, chronic fatigue, headaches, colds and many other problems.

I was not used to trusting any information, but I decided to check and ordered a package. I noticed changes within a week: the rash disappeared in just a couple of days. After almost a month of taking it, I felt a surge of strength, I was released from constant migraines. Try it and you, and if anyone is interested, then below is a link to the article.

Do you still think that it is impossible to get rid of herpes forever?

Herpes simplex type 1 or 2, when the microorganism enters the cells of the brain, causing an inflammatory process. Such inflammation of the central nervous system caused by herpes viruses is called herpetic encephalitis, or colloquially - brain herpes .

Herpetic encephalitis most often develops in young children or in newborns infected with the virus from the mother. Herpes of the brain can develop, both in response to the primary penetration of the virus into the body, and be a variant of exacerbation of asymptomatic virus carriers. In children, most often herpes encephalitis is the primary process, when the virus enters the body for the first time in life. The herpes virus, having got on the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, penetrates into the branches of the nerves, and then moves along them, reaching the structures of the brain. Once in the brain, the virus leads to the development of herpetic encephalitis.

In older people, herpetic encephalitis is not a primary process. That is, once a person was infected with the herpes virus, which became more active and gradually penetrated into the structures of the brain.

Currently, the exact causes and ways of penetration of the herpes virus into the brain have not been established.

Herpetic encephalitis is characterized by acute febrile onset, seizures, and impaired consciousness. Inflammation of the brain develops after a brief acute respiratory illness. In addition to these general symptoms, paresis of the oculomotor nerves, hemiparesis and speech disorder appear.

In the cerebrospinal fluid in herpetic encephalitis, the number of lymphocytes increases to 30-400 g/l and the protein concentration to 1.32 g/l. However, these changes in the composition of the cerebrospinal fluid appear only after 3-5 days from the onset of the disease. In the general blood test, an increase in the total number of leukocytes and stab neutrophils is noted, and the number of lymphocytes also decreases. In addition, ESR is increased, as with any other inflammatory process.

With an unfavorable course of encephalitis, a person falls into a coma, which can be fatal. If herpetic encephalitis is not treated with antiviral drugs, then the mortality rate from this infection is 70 - 75%. However, even with the correct and timely use of antiviral drugs, 20-25% of people with herpetic encephalitis die.

After recovery, a large number of people experience residual effects in the form of seizures or mental impairment. Infants may develop hydrocephalus, or complete melting of the cerebral cortex.

Diagnosis of herpetic encephalitis is a rather difficult task, since no specific signs exist. And the identification of the viral nature of encephalitis is necessary in order to start the correct treatment in a timely manner. Currently, in order to diagnose herpetic encephalitis, detection of the virus by PCR in a biopsy of the brain or cerebrospinal fluid is used.

Treatment of herpetic encephalitis is carried out in the intensive care unit due to the high risk of developing respiratory disorders. The main drug for the treatment of encephalitis is acyclovir (Zovirax, Virolex, etc.), which is administered in the form of intravenous injections. In addition, interferon preparations and other immunostimulants are used that enhance the immune response and help the body cope with the herpes virus. In order to suppress inflammation, it is necessary to use glucocorticoids - Dexamethasone, Cortisone, etc.

Herpes of the brain (herpetic encephalitis) is a serious and dangerous disease that manifests itself in the form of inflammation with a rapid course, which leads to changes in the brain. Certain strains of herpes simplex, namely HSV-1 and HSV-2, are capable of causing this ailment.

The herpes virus contains DNA chains, has a size of 150 nanometers and an integumentary shell consisting of lipids. When a human body is infected, it penetrates into the cells, where it divides, but does not cause any harm - the stage of latent flow (not active). As soon as the body succumbs to the influence of certain factors, the pathogen enters the stage of reactivity. In most cases, pathology occurs in people 5-30 years old, after 50, it most often acts as a complication.

The herpetic form is the most common form of all known encephalitis. In many patients who carry the causative agent of the herpes virus in their body, this infection has settled in the brain and is activated in the event of any injury to the organ. This can happen while taking certain drugs, prolonged exposure to low or high temperatures. In the rest, infection occurs from exogenous causes. Studies have found that the peak of the increase in infections occurs in the spring.

Etiology

The causative agent of the disease is a representative of the herpes family (Herpes viridae), this also includes the chickenpox virus, herpes zoster, cytomegalovirus, etc. It has DNA, actively multiplies inside the cells of the body, forming intranuclear inclusions. When certain types of cells (for example, neurons) are affected, the process of pathogen replication and cell death is absent. Instead, the cell makes a specific inhibitory effect on the virus, causing it to go into the latency stage. Sometimes, you can identify the reactivation process, which brings the virus from a dormant state to a manifest one.

According to the selected structure of antigens to herpes, HSV is divided into 2 types. The genomes of strains 1 and 2 are 50% homologous. HSV-1 often affects the organs of the respiratory system. HSV-2 is a typical causative agent of such pathologies as genital herpes and generalized herpes in newborns.

The infection can be transmitted by contact or droplet.

The process of development of the disease

In a young body, the primary herpes virus is capable of taking the form of encephalitis herpes. In this situation, pathogens enter the human central nervous system from the mucous membrane of the nasal cavity, moving along unequal fibers that are responsible for smell. But, many adults suffering from herpes encephalitis already have episodes of the disease in the past, or they are active carriers of HSV-1 virus.

Every 4 patients with herpes of the brain shows the presence of different varieties of the virus during laboratory analysis of materials from the mucous membrane of the oropharynx. In such cases, inflammation of the brain can be explained by re-infection with HSV-1 with its subsequent introduction into the CNS.

In order to describe in detail the causes of the development of the inflammatory process of the GM, namely those cases when strains of the same species were found on the mucous membrane of the oropharynx and in the tissues of the GM, 2 hypotheses were made:

1. The first one says - a recurrent manifestation of the herpes encephalitis virus in the trigeminal or autonomic ganglia, with spread to the central nervous system along the nerve fibers.
2. The second hypothesis is that herpes remains in a latent state for a very long time immediately in the central nervous system, where it is reactivated.

Symptoms

Encephalitic herpes likes to affect the temporal and frontal lobes of the GM, in which necrotization and hemorrhagic lesions most often occur.

The main symptoms can manifest themselves in different ways, depending on the severity and location of the affected area of ​​the brain. Experts have identified a specific triad of symptoms that is characteristic of herpetic inflammation:

1. Acute fever - a sharp hyperthermia of the body (up to 39 degrees). This temperature is difficult to bring down, even taking antipyretic drugs.
2. Seizures of the Jacksonian type - they are able to cover the entire body or certain parts of it.
3. Disorder of consciousness - ranging from short-term forgetfulness to deep coma (this disorder is almost always disappointing, since in 90% of cases, people immersed in a coma do not survive).

These signs will certainly manifest themselves in all infected people, but among them there are those that are purely individual for each specific case. These include:

• Dysfunction of the oculomotor nerve - patients may experience strabismus and a feeling of doubling.
• Rapid hallucinations (a common occurrence that accompanies other CNS pathologies and requires immediate treatment).
• Increased sweating.
• Short-term memory loss.
• Unsteadiness when walking.
• Monoparesis or disorder of motor functionality on one side of the body (the result of damage to the temporal lobe of the brain).
• Excited state.
• Speech disorder.

In addition, a herpes GM lesion can be assumed by such signs as an increase in the protein content in the cerebrospinal fluid, a high level of ESR, and lymphopenia. Babies may develop GM decortication or dropsy (hydrocephalus).

Diagnosis and treatment

It is difficult to diagnose encephalitis caused by herpes, distinguishing it from other types of inflammation and lesions of the central nervous system of a different nature. The most informative method of early diagnosis, which does not require invasive interventions in the GM and is highly accurate, is the detection of herpes simplex virus DNA in the spinal cord cerebrospinal fluid using the PCR method.

The amount of antibodies to HSV, which was obtained from the studied body fluids (liquor or serum) in herpetic encephalitis often increases, and this happens during the first 10 days of the disease.

Given these nuances, serological research methods are suitable only for retrospective diagnosis. A biopsy provides an excellent opportunity to detect traces of antigens and DNA of the herpes virus, which is localized in brain tissues, and to subsequently isolate the type of virus in cell culture. A method with very high sensitivity, which also has a low complication rate. In addition, a biopsy allows you to diagnose other types of brain inflammation that may be present.

A sick person is isolated and placed in an intensive care unit or intensive care unit. The main drug that has a suppressive effect on the virus and is able to get rid of all symptoms is Acyclovir. It is known to most people for its topical products, but for the treatment of brain damage, injectable and oral forms must be used.

The first days of the treatment course begin with high doses of drugs to introduce it into the body. This treatment regimen reduces the mortality rate from 70% to 5% and, moreover, significantly reduces the risk of complications in the form of disability.

Many doctors consider it necessary to prescribe interferons during treatment (Cycloferon, Viferon, etc.), but experts from Western clinics who conducted tests did not confirm their high effectiveness in the fight against the herpes simplex virus.

In a hospital, the patient is prescribed mandatory detoxification of the body and dehydration (restoration of water-salt balance). To remove swelling from the brain, glucocorticosteroids, tracheal intubation, and ventilation are used.

• Ventilation of premises.
• Careful hand washing with soap and water after visiting the street and before eating.
• Compliance with basic rules of personal hygiene.
• During outbreaks of infection, it is recommended to avoid places of strong crowds of people.
• Great attention should be paid to the prevention of newborns.
• It is important to start timely treatment of exacerbation of herpes on the lips and genitals.