[Contamination of a glioma by the herpes virus]

The clinical and neuropathologic descriptions of a glioma in a 65 years old patient, who died 9 days after its subtotal resection, are documented. The post-mortem study of the brain revealed an herpetic encephalitis with its classical topographical distribution. There were numerous eosinophilic inclusion bodies which ultrastructurally were characteristic of herpes simplex virus. The author discusses, with reference to the literature, the exo and endogenous sources of infection, the means of dissemination, the problem of latency and reactivation of the virus. He proposes the hypothesis that the infection of the glioma cells is this case was most likely related the immature immunity of the cells, corticoid therapy and surgical resection acting as inducers. The almost complete absence of an inflammatory reaction evokes an opportunistic viral infection in an immunodeficient patient. Inspite of the description by many authors of different particles which have been interpreted as of viral origin in some brain tumours, the hypothesis of an oncogenic action of the herpetic virus is not retained in this particular case, considered as exceptional, of the glioma described herein. The precocious search for HSV antibodies by immunofluorescence and a temporal lobe biopsy in order to establish an early diagnosis are necessities so as to administer as rapidly as possible the specific therapy, adénine-arabinoside.