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Herpes simplex encephalitis presenting with exclusively frontal lobe involvement

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Abstract

The authors report a patient with herpes simplex encephalitis who presented with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) lesions exclusively in the frontal lobes, including the bilateral anterior cingulate gyri. She is making a good recovery after therapy with intravenous acyclovir. A similar presentation with a fatal outcome was previously reported by Rose et al (Neurology 42: 1809–1812, 1992). MRI shows temporal lesions in most patients with herpes simplex encephalitis, whereas occasional patients have normal imaging. A high index of suspicion for the diagnosis of herpes simplex encephalitis should be maintained when a patient presents with fever and brain lesions involving extratemporal limbic system structures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine (Neurology), Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

    Sean W. Taylor & Alan C. Jackson

  2. Departments of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada

    Donald H. Lee

  3. Health Sciences Centre, GF543, 820 Sherbrook Street, R3A 1R9, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

    Alan C. Jackson

Authors
  1. Sean W. Taylor
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  2. Donald H. Lee
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  3. Alan C. Jackson
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Correspondence to Alan C. Jackson.

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Taylor, S.W., Lee, D.H. & Jackson, A.C. Herpes simplex encephalitis presenting with exclusively frontal lobe involvement. Journal of NeuroVirology 13, 477–481 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1080/13550280701491131

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13550280701491131

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