[Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis Van Bogaert's Subacute sclerosing leucoencephalitis. Outline of past findings and future prospects].

After a short historical introduction, the author presents the actual state of our biological knowledge with special reference to the increase of gamma-globulines and measle anti-bodies in the serum as well as in the CSF. He insists upon the works which identified and isolated the measle anti-gene but which nevertheless cannot define a special form of measle encephalities. Two hypothesis (a) immunologic (b) viral, could give an explanation of the observed facts. The neuro-pathological modifications are then related to the EEG abnormalities, but htese relations do not give an entire explanation of the genesis of periodic paroxysmal eeg activities, which are so unusual. The reproduction of encephalitis in the hamster and the ferret, from cerebral biopsies and cell cultures give hopes of further progress in the understanding of the etiopathology and perhaps the therapy of the subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.