In the last 10 years, an increased number of patients presenting with acute encephalitis is being observed, a finding that is attributed to autoimmune mechanisms. Despite the fact that autoantibodies usually target the neuronal cell surface or synaptic proteins in the central nervous system (CNS), in many cases these remain undetectable, constituting a future diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Human herpesvirus-7 (HHV-7) is proven to be a neurotropic virus, causing various neurological complications mostly in the adult population. We present the case of a 10-year-old girl, with confirmed active HHV-7 infection of the CNS, who developed acute seronegative autoimmune encephalitis. To our best knowledge, there is no literature concerning pediatric cases of autoimmune encephalitis following HHV-7 infection.
Keywords: HHV-7 infection; acute encephalitis; seronegative autoimmune encephalitis.
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