Oxidative stress in patients with clinically mild encephalitis/encephalopathy with a reversible splenial lesion (MERS)

• DOI: 10.1016/j.braindev.2011.04.004
• Publication Date: 2011-05-21T12:48:03Z
• Authors: Rie Miyata; Naoyuki Tanuma; Masaharu Hayashi; Takuji Imamura; Jun-ichi Takanashi; Rieko Nagata; Akihisa Okumura; Hirohumi Kashii; Sunao Tomita; Satoko Kumada; Masaya Kubota
• Keywords: Male; Brain Diseases; Adolescent; Sodium; Radioimmunoassay; Deoxyguanosine; Infant; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; tau Proteins; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Corpus Callosum; 3. Good health; Oxidative Stress; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; 8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine; Child, Preschool; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase; Cytokines; Encephalitis; Humans; Female; Child

We examined oxidative stress markers, tau protein and cytokines in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in six patients with clinically mild encephalitis/encephalopathy with a reversible splenial lesion (MERS). In the CSF, 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and hexanoyl-lysine adduct levels increased over the cutoff index in four and one out of six MERS patients, respectively. The CSF IL-6 and IL-10 levels were increased in three out of six patients, two of which had extended lesion of the cerebral white matter. The CSF value of tau protein, marker of the axonal damage, was not increased, and neuron specific enolase (NSE) in the CSF was not increased. The increased 8-OHdG levels in the CSF, DNA oxidative stress marker, in four MERS patients, suggesting involvement of oxidative stress in MERS. MERS is occasionally accompanied with hyponatremia, although our patients lacked hyponatremia. It is possible that the disequilibrium of systemic metabolism including electrolytes may lead to facilitation of oxidative stress and reversible white matter lesion in MERS. The increase of cytokine production seems to be involved in the distribution of lesions in MERS.