CD8 Encephalitis: A Diagnostic Dilemma

Rohan Sharma; Thomas Spradley; Morgan Campbell; Shubham Biyani; Pulkit Singhal; Hisham Elkhider; Krishna Nalleballe; Murat Gokden; Manoj Kumar; Nidhi Kapoor

doi:10.3390/diagnostics12112687

CD8 Encephalitis: A Diagnostic Dilemma

Diagnostics (Basel). 2022 Nov 4;12(11):2687. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics12112687.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurocritical Care, Mayo Clinic in Florida, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA.
² Department of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA.
³ College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA.
⁴ Department of Neurology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA.
⁵ College of Osteopathic Medicine, California Health Sciences University, Clovis, CA 93612, USA.
⁶ Department of Pathology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA.
⁷ Department of Radiology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA.
⁸ Department of Neurology, Baptist Medical Center, Jacksonville, FL 32207, USA.

Abstract

CD8+ encephalitis is a subacute encephalopathy associated with HIV infection. Pathophysiology is thought to be auto-reactive CD8+ cells attacking on HIV infected CD4+ cells and 'viral escape' phenomena (replication of CD8+ cells in CSF). We present a case of a 45-year-old man with well controlled HIV who developed CD8 encephalitis following Herpes simplex encephalitis. He had persistent encephalopathy for several weeks with status epilepticus and agitated delirium, and diagnosis remained elusive until a brain biopsy confirmed the diagnosis.

Keywords: CD8 encephalitis; HIV; HSV; encephalitis.

Publication types

Case Reports

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.