Transient appearance of oligoclonal immunoglobulins and measles virus antibodies in the cerebrospinal fluid in a case of acute measles encephalitis.

Acute measles encephalitis with severe sequelae in a 25-year-old man was studied. A transient appearance of oligoclonal IgG in cerebrospinal fluid and of intrathecally produced measles antibodies was found during 2 months after the onset of the disease. On the basis of this finding of local hyperimmunization it is proposed that in the case studied the measles virus infection may have been directly responsible for the disease process in the central nervous system.