[Prolonged non-convulsive status epilepticus as an early clinical manifestation of epilepsy in connection with HIV infection--case report with EEG and MRI follow-up].

The non-convulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) is a complication of petit mal epilepsy or epilepsy with temporal lobe seizures. Very rarely it is the primary manifestation of a symptomatic epilepsy. This report is on a 30-year old female inpatient with NCSE as the primary manifestation of symptomatic epilepsy, occurring four years after HIV infection (stage B3 according to the CDC classification) through heterosexual contact. After an initial tonic-clonic seizure, the patient suffered from NCSE for four weeks with diminished consciousness and major cognitive deficits. During this whole time period the EEG showed bilateral synchrone 1-2 Hz spike-wave complexes. After several failed treatment attempts, the NCSE was successfully and permanently treated with a combination of valproic acid and ethosuximide. The cerebrospinal fluid, cranial CT and cranial MRI were completely uneventful with regard to a CNS infection by the HI-virus or other infectious agents. 20 days after the initial symptoms, MRI showed bilateral cortical-subcortical and bilateral hippocampal lesions which stood out as focal edema zones, gradually disappeared completely and occurred in combination with the development of a discrete brain and right sided hippocampal atrophy. The EEG continued to show signs of right-temporal epileptic discharges with tendencies to generalise after 3 months but normalised after 6 months. Epileptic seizures are rarely an initial clinical sign of an infection with the HI-Virus even if no signs of encephalitis is detectable in the cerebrospinal fluid or in the cerebral MRI.