Measles and SSPE: occurrence and pathogenesis

Measles is an acute febrile exanthematous condition that is usually a self-limiting disease, but it can be associated with several complications, one of which is subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE). It is a rare delayed complication of measles due topersistenceof the virus in the central nervous system. All of the genetic analyses of viral material derived from brain tissue of SSPE patients have revealed sequences of wild-type measles virus (MV). There is no evidence that measles vaccine can cause SSPE. Several mutations have been described in genes coding for proteins in SSPE strains of MV. Several host cell modifications, mechanisms of virus reactivation and immunopathology in pathogenesis of SSPE have been explained recently, broadening the understand-ing of this fatal disease. Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by the measles viru