2023-05-20 05:07:00
Disturbances of consciousness, speech failures, paralysis and even changes in character: Brain inflammation (encephalitis) can show up through various warning signals – and have many causes.
The terms are often confused when talking about encephalitis and meningitis. The names already tell the difference: In the case of brain inflammation, known in technical terms as encephalitis, the entire brain is affected. In the case of meningitis, it is the outer layer that envelops the brain. The symptoms can be somewhat similar, but there are differences in the time in which they develop. Meningitis shows signs more quickly than encephalitis.
Differences between encephalitis and meningitis
Symptoms common to both encephalitis and meningitis include headache, fever, and stiff neck.
The difference, however, is that meningitis does not affect brain functions such as impaired consciousness. The more the inflammation penetrates inwards, the more the brain is affected. In contrast to meningitis, those affected by encephalitis have symptoms of brain function failure, explains neurologist Prof. Frank Erbguth.
Possible causes of encephalitis
There are many possible causes of encephalitis. The invaders can come from outside, for example in the form of viruses, bacteria, parasites or fungi. Herpes viruses or the TBE virus transmitted by ticks can be the trigger. A second large group are autoimmune reactions: The body’s own defenses are activated without an intruder standing in front of the door. According to Erbguth, the body reacts as if to an external enemy that isn’t even there.
Professor Harald Prüß, Director of the Department of Experimental Neurology at the Charité in Berlin, specializes in autoimmune encephalitis. He gives examples of various triggers of the body’s misguided defense reaction. “In some patients, the autoimmune encephalitis is caused by a tumor,” he explains. This disease can also occur after viral infections such as influenza or glandular fever.
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Symptoms that may indicate encephalitis
The spectrum of symptoms in encephalitis is wide: “If, for example, there is inflammation in the speech center in the left hemisphere of the brain, you have speech disorders,” explains Prof. Erbguth. If the motor center in the right hemisphere is affected, paralysis can occur in the left leg.
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Changes in character are an alarm signal for encephalitis: “Those affected have turned inward within a very short time,” says the Charité doctor. Psychological changes can therefore be observed in a relatively large number of patients. “Some are depressed, others hear voices or hallucinate.”
Language changes are also often a sign. Those affected cannot think of the words. Encephalitis can affect anyone. You cannot prevent, you can only react quickly. In the event of mental changes or signs of paralysis in combination with fever, you should contact a doctor immediately.
Possible encephalitis symptoms at a glance:
- confusion
- speech disorders
- personality changes
- hallucinations
- sensitivity to light
- signs of paralysis
- Headache
- Fever
- stiff neck
treatment of encephalitis
Whether you can treat encephalitis that occurs due to external triggers depends heavily on the pathogen, says neurologist Erbguth and explains it with two examples: “If it’s a herpes virus, then you can’t prevent it, but you can treat the virus effectively.” Vice versa with FMSE: Here you cannot fight the virus directly, but only alleviate the symptoms. There is a vaccination against TBE.
If, on the other hand, it is autoimmune encephalitis, an attempt is made to remove the antibodies in the blood and to prevent the production of new antibodies by administering medication. In any case, you should react quickly. “In principle, the same rule applies here as with a stroke: time is brain,” says Charité doctor Prüß.
With material from dpa
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