Rasmussen et al. described a syndrome characterized by intractable focal seizures in childhood, leading to focal motor seizures, progressive hemiparesis, and cognitive impairment. Rasmussen's encephalitis (RE) is now defined as an autoimmune disorder that determines progressive multifocal encephalopathy associated to unilateral cortical atrophy and progressive deterioration. Histologically, RE is characterized by an inflammatory lesion compromising the gray and white matters, with frequent lymphocytes arising in sanguineous vessels and respective perivascular tissues, glial nodules, hydropic degeneration, and atrophy. Currently, conventional antiepileptic therapy drugs remain unhelpful in treating the seizures, but the process appeared to be halted by hemispherectomy. We herein report three cases of RE treated by surgical resection and discuss the pathogenesis and diagnostic histopathological findings of this uncommon process.
Cambruzzi et al. (Sun,) studied this question.