Research on molecular diagnosis of acute encephalitis

本研究的目的是建立应用聚合酶链式反应(PCR)技术对急性脑炎进行早期诊断的方法，并探讨其发病机制。(1)单纯疱疹病毒性脑炎(HSE)我们建立了套式聚合酶链式反应技术，用于HSE患者的早期诊断。聚合酶链式反应检测的敏感性与脑活检相同，是诊断HSE的金标准方法，也可用于监测抗病毒治疗的反应。我们还发现HSE的复发与抗病毒药物的总剂量和持续时间有关。(2)在慢性活动性EBV感染中，基底节钙化常见。我们发现EBV感染的自然杀伤细胞和高细胞分裂素血症(干扰素-γ和肿瘤坏死因子-α)在钙化的发病机制中起着重要作用。(3)1996-1998年冬季，15岁以下儿童中有许多流感相关性脑病的报道。多种细胞因子，特别是IL-6可能在脑损伤的发病机制中起重要作用。

The aim of this study has been to establish the diagnostic techniques in terms of early diagnosis of acute encephalitis using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and to clarify the mechanism of brain damage during the course of illness.(1) Herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE)We established nested PCR assay for the early diagnosis of HSE patients. The sensitivity of PCR assay was same as that of brain biopsy, which has been a golden standard method of diagonsis in HSE.The PCR assay is also useful for monitoring the response to antiviral therapy. We also revealed that relapse of HSE could be related to the total dose and the duration of antiviral agent.(2) In chroaic active EBV infections, calcification of basal ganglia was found frequently. We found that EBV-infected natural killer cells and hyper cytokinemia (IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha) play important roles in the pathogenesis of calcification.(3) In 1996-1998 winter seasons, many cases with influenza-associated encephalopathy were reported among children (under l5yrs) . Several cytokines, particullariy, IL-6 may play a important role in the pathogenesis of brain damage.