ABSTRACT
Epstein–Barr virus is ubiquitous with nearly 90% of the adult population infected with the virus. At the time of primary infection is often an infectious mononucleosis that is self-limiting. However, in some individuals, it can cause a wide variety of neurological manifestations including an aseptic meningitis, encephalitis, Guillain–Barre Syndrome, or Bell’s palsy, other types of peripheral neuropathies due to lymphoproliferative disease, transverse myelitis, and acute cerebellar ataxia in children. Some psychiatric syndromes have also been associated with EBV infection, particularly, Alice in wonderland syndrome, which manifests with bizarre distortions of spacial sense. The virus primarily targets B cells, which elicits a strong T-cell response leading to an inflammatory syndrome at the site of infection. The infection can also lead to B-cell proliferation resulting in lymphoproliferative disease and in some cases a B-cell lymphoma. In patients with AIDS, CNS lymphoma is nearly always EBV positive. The chapter discusses modes of diagnosis and treatment with antivirals and anti-inflammatory drugs.
