Brain Disorders & Therapy

Encephalitis in the Brain: Symptoms and Causes of Primary and Secondary Encephalitis

Causon Rautowni^* Department of Neurology, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
^*Correspondence: Causon Rautowni, Department of Neurology, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Email:

Received: 28-Nov-2022, Manuscript No. BDT-22-18726; Editor assigned: 02-Dec-2022, Pre QC No. BDT-22-18726 (PQ); Reviewed: 16-Dec-2022, QC No. BDT-22-18726; Revised: 23-Dec-2022, Manuscript No. BDT-22-18726 (R); Published: 30-Dec-2022, DOI: 10.35248/2168-975X.22.11.183

Description

Inflammation of the brain is termed as encephalitis. Viral infection, autoimmune inflammation, bacterial infection, insect bites, and other factors are some of the reasons.

Encephalitis can be of two primary types.

Primary encephalitis

When a virus or other substance penetrates the brain directly, this disease results. It's possible for the infection to be localized or universal. Reactivation of a virus that has lain dormant during a prior sickness may result in a primary infection.

Secondary encephalitis

This illness is the outcome of the body's immune system responding incorrectly to an infection elsewhere. The immune system accidentally kills healthy brain cells in addition to the cells that are causing the infections. Secondary encephalitis, often referred to as post-infection encephalitis, typically develops 2 to 3 weeks following the initial diagnosis.

Symptoms

Headache, neck stiffness, fever, joints or muscle cramping, exhaustion or tiredness, confusion, anxiety, or illusions, convulsions, loss of feeling, weak muscles, unconsciousness, swelling in an infant's soft regions of the skull, body stiffness, irritability, and memory loss. Sometimes, behavioral alterations including hyperactivity or psychotic episodes can place.

Viral Reasons

Virus of Herpes Simplex (HSV)

Both HSV types 1 and 2, which are linked to genital warts and cold sores and fever blisters around the mouth, can lead to encephalitis. Although HSV type 1 encephalitis is uncommon, it can cause severe neurological injury or even death.

Different herpes viruses

There are several of them, such as the Epstein-Barr virus, which frequently results in infectious mononucleosis, and the varicellazoster virus, which frequently results in pox and lesions.

Enteroviruses

These viruses include the poliovirus which typically results in a disease with symptoms similar to the influenza, eye irritation, and abdominal discomfort.

Viruses spread by mosquitoes

After being exposed to a virus carried by a mosquito, symptoms of an illness may start to show up a few days to a few weeks later.

Virus-borne via ticks

After just a tick bite, symptoms typically start to show up a week later.

Viral rabies

The rabies virus infection, which is often spread through a bite from an animal that has the infection, quickly progresses to encephalitis once symptoms appear. In the United States, rabies is a sporadic cause of encephalitis.

Etiology

When certain viral illnesses or vaccines are combined, encephalitis can develop as a subsequent immunologic consequence. One to three weeks later, the immune system may attack one or more antigens of the Central Nervous System (CNS) that resemble proteins of the infectious pathogen, causing inflammatory demyelination of the brain and spinal cord.

Historically, measles, rubella, chickenpox, mumps, and other contagious diseases were the most common causes of this consequence.

Diagnosis

The identification of the characteristic symptoms, a thorough clinical evaluation, a full patient history, and a number of specialists testing all contribute to the diagnosis of idiopathic herpes simplex encephalitis. These diagnostics include Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), which may confirm CSF herpes simplex virus infection. When identifying a case of herpes virus encephalitis, modern imaging techniques like computed tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) can be helpful.