Enterovirus diseases with neurological determinations in adults. Clinical and virological study

Enteroviruses--4 polio, 30 Coxsackie and 20 echovirus strains--were isolated from 54 patients with neurologic disease. In 29 cases (53.7%) viruses were isolated from the CSF, blood clot and nerve tissue homogenates. The correlation of the complex clinical data and the localisation of the lesions in the CNS demonstrate the involvement of cranial nerves, of the long bulbar motor pyramidal and extra-pyramidal tracts, of the reticular formation, a.o. These aspects are in accordance with the localisation of the lesions especially in the brain stem and in the hypothalamus, in most of our patients. The extent and complexity of the lesions suggest a predominatly vascular dissemination.