[Herpes encephalitis treated using adenine-arabino-side and followed-up by densitometry (author's transl)].

In a 52-year-old man suffering from encephalitis, immunofluorescent study of cerebral tissue led to a diagnosis of herpes encephalitis 4 hours after biopsy. Cell cultures on the fourth day confirmed the diagnosis. Such a hypothesis had already been advanced before biopsy on the basis of the electroencephalogram which showed electrical changes with a periodic tendency. Following treatment with adenine-arabinoside, motor deficit and aphasia disappeared in one month whilst there was a parallel increase in antibody levels in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid.