What is Rasmussen's Encephalitis?

Rasmussen’s encephalitis is a disease of the brain. It is characterized by numerous symptoms, including seizures, paralysis, decreased cognitive ability, and sometimes speech disorders. It normally only affects one side of a person’s brain, and therefore, the symptoms are generally concentrated on one side. Rasmussen’s encephalitis is thought to be an immune system disorder, and there is no cure, but there are several approaches to treatment. For most patients, the disease gradually gets worse over time, and sometimes surgery is the only treatment that can help.

This disease usually develops in people before they reach 10 years of age, although it’s not unheard of for someone to get sick after reaching adulthood. The earliest symptoms are almost strictly associated with seizures, and sometimes these can be a constant problem during the beginning part of the illness. Eventually, this changes and patients settle down into a more consistent pattern with fewer seizures, but they never actually get rid of the disease.

Some of the later symptoms include a loss of feeling and seizures that only affect one side. In the early stages, symptoms aren’t necessarily restricted to one side, but this usually changes as the disease progresses. One of the more common symptoms is a loss of speech ability, and this usually suggests that the disorder is primarily attacking the left part of the brain.

Scientists aren’t certain about the cause of Rasmussen’s encephalitis, but they generally believe that it’s an immune system disorder where the body attacks itself. In this way, it could be considered similar to arthritis, but whereas arthritis attacks certain joints, Rasmussen’s encephalitis attacks an individual’s brain. Over time, this attack will usually result in brain damage. Sometimes that damage is very severe, and in other cases, it may be relatively mild. The severity of the disease can be very different for different patients.

Doctors have tried several treatment approaches for Rasmussen’s encephalitis, including immune-suppressant therapy, cleaning the blood to get rid of antibodies that are attacking the brain, and steroids. The general pattern with all these treatments is that they may work for a while, but eventually the symptoms return and the disease continues to progress. The only treatment with a very consistent record for long-term improvement is to actually excise the part of the brain that is affected. Doctors usually wait until they have no choice to use this method because there are obvious downsides to losing brain tissue. At the same time, younger patients tend to recover better from this type of brain surgery, so they don’t want to wait too long if they feel it’s going to be necessary.