A case of irreversible leukoencephalopathy in a patient with C virus hepatitis treated with pegylated interferon-alpha-2b and ribavirin.

We describe the case of a patient with C chronic hepatitis and early virological response on pegylated-interferon-alpha based therapy who presented clinical manifestations and magnetic resonance imaging suggestive for toxic leukoencephalopathy after 5 months of treatment. The negative results for neurotropic infectious agents and autoimmune markers opened the discussion of toxic interferon-induced leukoencephalopathy as a rare, but threatening neurologic side effect of this therapy.