Serial CT scans in Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis

Abstract

Serial CT scans from the early stages of the disease were studied in two patients with Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis (SSPE). In the early stage of the disease (Jabbour's stage 2), there were no abnormalities except for a slight enlargement of the 4th ventricle. With progression of the disease, a slight diffuse cortical atrophy occurred. In the more advanced stages (Jabbour's stage 3–4), marked diffuse cortical atrophy and enlargement of the lateral ventricles were evident. The EEG findings correlated well with the CT findings. These observations were not compatible with the supposition that, in the early stages, the disease chiefly affects the occipital areas and then spreads to the anterior portion of the hemispheres, and that subcortical structures, brain stem, and spinal cord are later involved.