ABSTRACT
Reye’s syndrome (RS) is a serious, acute encephalopathy, principally of childhood, which is associated with selective hepatic dysfunction; occasionally adults are affected. The primary insult is to mitochondria, and evidence for this relates both to structural integrity and biochemical function. Aetiopathogenesis is likely to be multifactorial and although still unclear, some clues have emerged. There is a sizeable literature from the USA since the early 1970s, much of which is based on data from a national reporting scheme that began in 1973. Epidemiological surveillance of RS in the UK and Ireland took place between 1981 and 2001. No other countries have ongoing surveillance schemes, but individual case reports and time-limited series, usually based on hospital referrals, have been published from many parts of the world.
