From Japanese encephalitis to autoimmune encephalitis, here's a brief look at some of the reasons why the brain gets inflamed

An Indian-origin girl in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis, news agencies reported over the weekend. This rare condition occurs when our immune system fails to recognise our brain cells and attacks them, causing inflammation. The 20-year-old has been on a ventilator for the last six months, agencies added.

Encephalitis was also in the news earlier this year when more than 160 children died from Japanese encephalitis after eating contaminated litchi fruits in Muzaffarpur, Bihar.

Representational image. Image source: Getty Images

There are many reasons why the brain gets inflamed. Here’s a look at why this happens and the symptoms.

What is encephalitis

Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain tissues. It is usually caused by an infection - usually, the infection-causing agent is a virus, but it could be another pathogen also.

Symptoms of encephalitis

In the initial stages, patients with encephalitis may experience flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, fatigue. In some cases, patients don’t experience any symptoms in the early stages of the disease.

Once the infection spreads to a significant part of the brain, they may develop symptoms such as confusion, seizures and loss of consciousness.

Encephalitis is often misdiagnosed because of its flu-like symptoms. For encephalitis patients, timely diagnosis and prompt treatment are key. This is because the course of the disease varies from individual to individual - and it can be quite unpredictable.

Types of encephalitis

Inflammation of the brain or encephalitis can be caused by a virus, bacteria, fungi or protozoa. Broadly, if a person develops encephalitis due to an infection in the brain - it is called primary encephalitis. If the inflammation occurs as a result of an infection in another part of the body, it is known as secondary encephalitis - this can occur when the immune system (mistakenly) thinks that the infection originated in the brain and attacks brain tissue to fight it off.

Whether the inflammation is primary or secondary in nature, the causative organism determines the name of the “type of encephalitis”. For example, there are many types of viral encephalitis such as:

• Japanese encephalitis
• Herpes simplex encephalitis
• St Louis encephalitis
• West Nile encephalitis
• Varicella-zoster encephalitis
• Equine encephalitis

Causes and treatment of encephalitis

Encephalitis can also be caused by viruses that cause measles, polio and rabies. Encephalitis-causing virus or bacteria can be transmitted to people by vectors like mosquitoes, horses, birds or ticks.

More often than not, encephalitis is acute in nature  - meaning, the appearance of symptoms is sudden and intense.

This variant of encephalitis presents with symptoms related to nerve damage such as seizures, impaired memory, confusion, loss of consciousness and eventually coma.

Doctors usually suppress the immune system by injecting immunosuppressive drugs to treat encephalitis. Sometimes, autoimmune encephalitis is connected to cancer. In such a scenario, finding and removing the tumour is the main treatment.

The key is to achieve normal brain function with early treatment. Otherwise. the patient's brain function worsens day by day, and might even cost them their life.

Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, India’s first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health. For more information, please read our article on Encephalitis: Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment.