Japanese Encephalitis

"S kumar et al documented in Neuroradiology. 1997 Mar;39(3):180-4 the MRI features in seven patients with Japanese encephalitis. In all the patients MRI revealed bilateral thalamic lesions, haemorrhagic in five. Signal changes were present in the cerebrum in four patients, the midbrain and cerebellum in three each, the pons in two and the basal ganglia in one. The lesions were haemorrhagic in three of the four patients with lesions in the cortex, two of the three with lesions in the midbrain and cerebellum, but the pontine lesions were haemorrhagic in both patients. Spinal cord involvement was seen in one of the three patients who underwent MRI. Bilateral thalamic involvement, especially haemorrhagic, may be considered characteristic of Japanese encephalitis, especially in endemic areas."