subacute sclerosing panencephalitis

[ suhb-uh-kyoot skli-roh-sing pan-en-sef-uh-lahy-tis, pan- ]

noun

, Pathology.

1. a rare infection of the central nervous system caused by the measles virus, occurring in children and adolescents several years after a measles attack and characterized by progressive personality changes, seizures, and muscular incoordination. : SSPE

Word History and Origins

Origin of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis¹

First recorded in 1965–70; scleros(is) + -ing ²; pan- + encephalitis

Example Sentences

Other complications include brain inflammation and, in rarer cases, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis — a deadly neurological disorder.

From Salon

And a complication known as subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, or SSPE, may emerge from dormancy years later.

From Washington Post

Babies younger than that can be infected with measles and later develop this complication, which is called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, or SSPE.

From Washington Post

There were at least 11 cases of this deadly complication, known as SSPE, or subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, after the 1988-91 measles epidemic in the United States, which infected more than 55,000.

From Los Angeles Times

He was relieved that she was recovering, but he had researched the disease and found an article I had edited on a complication of measles called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.

From Seattle Times