SSPE

From 1997 until 2024, the annual total number of measles cases exceeded 300 only 3 times. This year as of July 15th the total number of cases stood at 1,267. Perhaps it is time to remind people of Dawson’s disease.

Dawson’s disease is also known as subacute sclerosing panencepahlitis (SSPE). As the name would suggest it has several components. One is that it is subacute. That means its onset takes a long time. The second is that the damage that it causes is scarring of the brain tissue. It is called panencephalitis because it affects the entire brain.

SSPE is a complication of measles. About 1 in 5,000 people with measles go on to have the disease. For unvaccinated infants under 15 months of age the rate is higher. It can affect as many as 1 in 600.

It is subacute because the symptoms take years to develop. The average time between the diagnosis of measles to the start of SSPE is 7 years. However, some cases can appear as soon as one month. There has been a case that took 27 years to develop.

There are several stages to the disease. The first is the period of time from the measles infection to the beginning of overt symptoms. Sometimes there are subtle symptoms during this period. The individual may have trouble concentrating. There might be unexpected mood swings. There might be trouble with schoolwork that did not exist before the infection.

The next stage is the early deterioration stage. The psychological changes become more obvious. The neurologic changes may include memory loss. Concentration may worsen more. Personality changes are common.

The third stage is characterized by uncontrolled jerking and muscle spasms. It frequently includes seizures. It may cause blindness. It might show up as dementia symptoms.

The fourth stage has multiple uncontrolled movements. They may take the form of rigid and spastic muscles. They may take the form of writhing type behavior.

The last stage is the terminal stage. The patient loses consciousness. They lose the ability to speak. Ultimately, the brain can no longer regulate things like breathing, heart rate and blood pressure. The result is coma and death.

There is no current successful treatment for SSPE. There are some drugs that can slow it down. However, they must be started in the early stages to be effective.

Of course, the best treatment is prevention. Getting the measles vaccine will prevent it. The weakened strain of the measles virus in the vaccine does not cause SSPE. Only the wild virus does that. Some people may figure the odds of getting it are low at 1 in 5000. However, like any disease, if you happen to be that one, you will likely die from it.