Table 1. Post-HSVE: clinical features related to two pathogenic mechanisms.
| Infectious post-HSVE | Autoimmune post-HSVE | |
|---|---|---|
| Median age in years; (range)a | 5.25 (0.3 – 71) | 3 (0.3 – 67) |
| Male : femalea | 15 : 8 | 12 : 7 |
| Neurological symptomsa | Focal neurological signs, seizures, behavioral abnormalities, disorientation; three cases with choreoathetosis [5, 6, 8] | Choreoathetosis, ballism; one case with personality change, sleep disorder and bulimia [19]; |
| Time from initial HSV infection to relapsing symptoms | Variable | 4 – 6 weeks |
| HSV PCR in CSF | Positive | Negative |
| New necrotic lesions on MRI | Yes | No |
| Response to anti-viral therapy | Yes | No |
| Etiology | Infectious | Autoimmune |
aBased on review of the literature; cases considered by the authors as infectious HSVE relapses (n = 28; age available in n = 26; gender available in n = 23) [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15] and autoimmune mediated HSVE relapses (n = 33; age available in n = 23; gender available in n = 19) [2, 5, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29].