A 4-year-old with pica, progressive incoordination, and decreased responsiveness

This article reports a typical case of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE). The patient contracted measles as an infant during the 1989 to 1991 United States measles epidemic. At 4 1/2 years of age, he developed behavioral changes and quickly progressed through the typical clinical stages of SSPE. His EEG was characteristic. Serum and CSF measles immunoglobulin G were markedly elevated. He remains alive but is vegetative. To our knowledge, this is the first case of SSPE stemming from the 1989 to 1991 measles epidemic. Because infants--the group at highest risk to develop SSPE--were most severely affected by this measles outbreak, other cases of SSPE stemming from this epidemic may occur.