Viral encephalitis: A mere evil doppelganger or a mini-me of glioblastoma

Background: Viral encephalitis and glioblastomas can have a very variable clinical and radiological presentation. Although they are both relatively rare, they are known to mimic each other. Methods: In this study, we retrospectively analysed the radiology databank from 2010 to 2020 to find cases w...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rahat Brar, Deepander Singh Rathore, Ankur Dwivedi, Abhishek Prasad, Shaleen Rana, Sanchita Garg, Richa Arora, Paramdeep Singh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2023-01-01
Series:Journal of Clinical and Scientific Research
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.jcsr.co.in/article.asp?issn=2277-5706;year=2023;volume=12;issue=1;spage=11;epage=17;aulast=Brar
_version_ 1797774120911372288
author Rahat Brar
Deepander Singh Rathore
Ankur Dwivedi
Abhishek Prasad
Shaleen Rana
Sanchita Garg
Richa Arora
Paramdeep Singh
author_facet Rahat Brar
Deepander Singh Rathore
Ankur Dwivedi
Abhishek Prasad
Shaleen Rana
Sanchita Garg
Richa Arora
Paramdeep Singh
author_sort Rahat Brar
collection DOAJ
description Background: Viral encephalitis and glioblastomas can have a very variable clinical and radiological presentation. Although they are both relatively rare, they are known to mimic each other. Methods: In this study, we retrospectively analysed the radiology databank from 2010 to 2020 to find cases which were initially suspected to be viral encephalitis based on their imaging and clinical parameters but were later diagnosed with glioblastomas on final histopathology. The initial imaging at the time of presentation was reviewed by three radiologists having experience of 18, 15 and 6 years in neuroimaging, and the follow-up imaging data were also reviewed by the same set of radiologists, and the results were recorded. Age- and sex-matched controls of confirmed viral encephalitis were also extracted from the same database. Results: We found three such cases which were initially diagnosed with viral encephalitis but rapidly progressed to glioblastoma in the region of suspected encephalitis. The average age of these patients was 60 years and all of them were males. All these cases had a very short history and the cerebrospinal fluid examination of all of these patients had tested negative for herpes simplex virus at the time of initial presentation. Conclusions: The development of glioma exactly at the site of initial encephalitic abnormality suggests an association between these two entities, which needs further prospective studies for validation and correlation with post-mortem histopathology. Furthermore, the fact that these glioma patients showed initial clinical improvement with antiviral drugs suggests a strong point towards such an association.
first_indexed 2024-03-12T22:16:23Z
format Article
id doaj.art-e994ccb34c5b49cab3f17d8384519016
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2277-5706
2277-8357
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-12T22:16:23Z
publishDate 2023-01-01
publisher Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
record_format Article
series Journal of Clinical and Scientific Research
spelling doaj.art-e994ccb34c5b49cab3f17d83845190162023-07-23T11:19:40ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsJournal of Clinical and Scientific Research2277-57062277-83572023-01-01121111710.4103/jcsr.jcsr_47_22Viral encephalitis: A mere evil doppelganger or a mini-me of glioblastomaRahat BrarDeepander Singh RathoreAnkur DwivediAbhishek PrasadShaleen RanaSanchita GargRicha AroraParamdeep SinghBackground: Viral encephalitis and glioblastomas can have a very variable clinical and radiological presentation. Although they are both relatively rare, they are known to mimic each other. Methods: In this study, we retrospectively analysed the radiology databank from 2010 to 2020 to find cases which were initially suspected to be viral encephalitis based on their imaging and clinical parameters but were later diagnosed with glioblastomas on final histopathology. The initial imaging at the time of presentation was reviewed by three radiologists having experience of 18, 15 and 6 years in neuroimaging, and the follow-up imaging data were also reviewed by the same set of radiologists, and the results were recorded. Age- and sex-matched controls of confirmed viral encephalitis were also extracted from the same database. Results: We found three such cases which were initially diagnosed with viral encephalitis but rapidly progressed to glioblastoma in the region of suspected encephalitis. The average age of these patients was 60 years and all of them were males. All these cases had a very short history and the cerebrospinal fluid examination of all of these patients had tested negative for herpes simplex virus at the time of initial presentation. Conclusions: The development of glioma exactly at the site of initial encephalitic abnormality suggests an association between these two entities, which needs further prospective studies for validation and correlation with post-mortem histopathology. Furthermore, the fact that these glioma patients showed initial clinical improvement with antiviral drugs suggests a strong point towards such an association.http://www.jcsr.co.in/article.asp?issn=2277-5706;year=2023;volume=12;issue=1;spage=11;epage=17;aulast=Brarencephalitisglioblastomamagnetic resonance imagingviral
spellingShingle Rahat Brar
Deepander Singh Rathore
Ankur Dwivedi
Abhishek Prasad
Shaleen Rana
Sanchita Garg
Richa Arora
Paramdeep Singh
Viral encephalitis: A mere evil doppelganger or a mini-me of glioblastoma
Journal of Clinical and Scientific Research
encephalitis
glioblastoma
magnetic resonance imaging
viral
title Viral encephalitis: A mere evil doppelganger or a mini-me of glioblastoma
title_full Viral encephalitis: A mere evil doppelganger or a mini-me of glioblastoma
title_fullStr Viral encephalitis: A mere evil doppelganger or a mini-me of glioblastoma
title_full_unstemmed Viral encephalitis: A mere evil doppelganger or a mini-me of glioblastoma
title_short Viral encephalitis: A mere evil doppelganger or a mini-me of glioblastoma
title_sort viral encephalitis a mere evil doppelganger or a mini me of glioblastoma
topic encephalitis
glioblastoma
magnetic resonance imaging
viral
url http://www.jcsr.co.in/article.asp?issn=2277-5706;year=2023;volume=12;issue=1;spage=11;epage=17;aulast=Brar
work_keys_str_mv AT rahatbrar viralencephalitisamereevildoppelgangeroraminimeofglioblastoma
AT deepandersinghrathore viralencephalitisamereevildoppelgangeroraminimeofglioblastoma
AT ankurdwivedi viralencephalitisamereevildoppelgangeroraminimeofglioblastoma
AT abhishekprasad viralencephalitisamereevildoppelgangeroraminimeofglioblastoma
AT shaleenrana viralencephalitisamereevildoppelgangeroraminimeofglioblastoma
AT sanchitagarg viralencephalitisamereevildoppelgangeroraminimeofglioblastoma
AT richaarora viralencephalitisamereevildoppelgangeroraminimeofglioblastoma
AT paramdeepsingh viralencephalitisamereevildoppelgangeroraminimeofglioblastoma