Influenza-Associated Encephalopathy and Febrile Convulsions

Abstract

The transcription of cytokine genes in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) of 23 children (mean age 3.2 years) with influenza (mostly type A) complicated by encephalopathy (11 patients) or febrile convulsions (12 patients) was compared with systemic cytokine responses in 23 (mean age 5.0 years) with influenza but without neurologic complications, in a study at Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.

Keywords

• peripheral blood leukocytes
• tumor necrosis factor
• polymerase chain reaction