Two cases of encephalo-myelo-radiculoneuropathy, triggered by herpes simplex virus type-1 infection

We report two cases of encephalo-myelo-radiculoneuropathy, triggered by herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) infection. Patient 1 (a 25-year-old man) and patient 2 (a 52-year-old man) were admitted to the hospital because of fever, headache, abnormal behavior, and loss of consciousness. In each case, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) showed lymphocytic pleocytosis with protein elevation, and serum and CSF IgG antibody titers to HSV-1 were elevated markedly. Although patient 1 was treated with aciclovir in the early phase of encephalitis, he developed severe quadriparesis as a sequela. Patient 2 was treated with a combination of aciclovir and corticosteroids, and he recovered completely about 4 months after the onset of the disease. There have been only a few reports of encephalo-myelo-radiculoneuropathy triggered by HSV-1 infection. Early corticosteroid therapy was effective in our patients with post-HSV-1 infectious encephalo-myelo-radiculoneuropathy. These two patients were studied with flow cytometry for peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets during the disease course. In the active stage of the disease, the helper-inducer (CD4 + CD29+), activated T cell (CD4 + CD25+), and cytotoxic/NK (CD8 Dull + CD11b Bright+) subsets were increased compared with subsets in controls. An interesting finding was mismatched responses with an increased suppressor-inducer (CD4 + Leu8+) subset and a decreased suppressor-effecter (CD8 Bright+ CD11b Dull+) subset, indicating a possible autoimmune character of encephalo-myelo-radiculoneuropathy triggered by viral infection.