Rasmussen's encephalitis in a pediatric patient with subtle early MRI changes: A case report

Abstract

Rasmussen's encephalitis (RE) is a progressive inflammatory neurological process most commonly occurring in children characterized by drug-resistant focal epilepsy, hemiplegia, and cognitive decline, with brain atrophy and white matter changes typically localized to 1 hemisphere of the brain. Because the clinical course of RE is often indistinguishable from a variety of medical conditions, MRI has historically been the primary diagnostic tool. Here, we report both the clinical course and progression of neuroimaging findings of a 5-year-old female who had very subtle early cortical and white matter changes on MRI and was diagnosed with RE by correlating the clinical presentation, imaging, and electrographic findings.