ABSTRACT
Viral infections of the central nervous system (CNS) still represent an enormous challenge. The etiologies of viral encephalitis and their manifestations have dramatically changed in the last few years, and in some cases, the prevalence has increased. The treatment of viral encephalitis has evolved tremendously in recent years. Acyclovir treatment has decreased mortality from 70% to 28% and morbidity from 97% to 62% in patients with herpes simplex encephalitis. This chapter reviews some of the main new trends in the treatment of viral CNS infections and illustrates these trends with examples of their potential use in specific infections of the CNS. Several viral CNS infections have no established antiviral regimens. New antiviral compounds should be developed for these conditions, for instance, in enteroviral encephalitis. Certain strains of neuropathogenic viruses are resistant to existing antiviral drugs, making them ineffective. Antiviral drugs used in different viral infections have been tested in the treatment of CNS viruses.
