Pediatric cerebral stroke induced by Epstein-Barr virus infection: Role of Interelukin overexpression.

We report the case of an EBV-induced ischemic stroke in a caucasian 2 year-old female. The cerebrospinal fluid samples showed positivity of polymerase chain reaction for EBV infection, also confirmed by pharyngeal swab culture. Increased levels of interleukin 6 and interleukin 1b were also detected in the cerebrospinal fluid.  Discussion: EBV infection has been identified as an important cause of neurological involvement in children. Findings of increased levels of interleukin 6 and interleukin 1b in the cerebrospinal fluid of the child with EBV induced-ischemic stroke seems to validate the role of pro-inflammatory cytokines as crucial mediators of cerebral thrombus formation. Conclusions: We believe that this report can be useful to clarify some pathophysiological mechanisms related to ischemic stroke related to Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) infection in children.