Treatment of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis with human leukocyte interferon.

In five patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), human leukocyte interferon (IFN) therapy was tried. IFN was administered intramuscularly, intravenously, and intrathecally. The total dose of administered IFN ranged from 13 X 10(6) to 116.92 X 10(6) IU. There were no severe side effects except for temporary high fever and vomiting. Observation of the clinical course were made for 26-60 months. At the beginning of the treatment, one of the patients was at the first stage of Jabbour's classification and the other four at the second stage. No clinical improvement was observed and the clinical course was progressive in all patients. At present, one of the patients was at the second stage and the other four were at the fourth stage. EEGs showed progressive deterioration, and cranial CT scan demonstrated progressive cortical atrophy and ventricular enlargement. Measles antibody titers in the serum and CSF also unchanged. On the other hand, permeability of IFN at blood-brain barrier (BBB) was relatively good.