ENCEPHALITIS PERIAXIALIS DIFFUSA (SCHILDER)

Abstract

CONTENTS Introduction. Report of Case. Postmortem Examination of the Body. Examination of the Central Nervous System. Macroscopic Examination. Microscopic Examination. Comment. Summary. INTRODUCTION In 1912, Schilder¹ described a new disease entity based on a personally observed case, and four other examples were identified in the literature. He designated the condition encephalitis periaxialis diffusa and endeavored to isolate it from the collective group of diffuse scleroses (Heubner²). Schilder's patient was a girl, aged 14, who for a few months had complained of headaches, vomiting and disturbance of vision, and who had become very apathetic. When she was first seen the neurologic examination, aside from a choked disk of 3 diopters and narrow visual fields, gave practically negative results. The blood Wassermann reaction, however, was positive in the mother and the daughter, and lumbar puncture showed a slight globulin reaction. After a few weeks paresis of the left abducens and