Resplice Foundation Launches Research Project to Study Rare, Fatal Measles Complication SSPE

Hyderabad:A city-based institute has announced a research project to examine why only a small number of children who contract measles develop subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), a progressive neurological disease that has no cure. Resplice Autism Research Foundation and Institute will also organise a free medical and research camp for affected and at-risk children in Manikonda on August 9.

Doctors said SSPE was a late complication of natural measles infection and could appear years after the child seemed to have recovered from the original illness. “The measles infection may pass, but its consequences can trouble a child even 10 years later,” said Dr Nitin Chawla, chief of paediatrics and critical care specialist, who is among the investigators named for the project.

SSPE causes gradual and permanent changes in the brain, doctors said. A child may first lose memory or control over routine activities, before the illness advances through different stages.

“Our current focus is to identify host susceptibility factors that may contribute to why only a small proportion of individuals exposed to measles later develop SSPE,” said Dr Chandrashekhar Thodupunuri, founder chairman of the foundation.

The proposed research will examine genomic, immune, epigenetic, microbiome, nutritional and metabolic factors. It will also study neuroinflammation, cytokines, the blood-brain barrier and other biological markers that may help explain a child’s vulnerability.

No established treatment can cure SSPE once it develops, the doctors said. Chawla added that current care remained supportive, while the team was studying whether early interventions could slow deterioration or preserve some functions. “Our ray of hope is seeing a child’s ability to eat improve gradually,” he said, while cautioning that small functional changes did not amount to a cure.

Three children were enrolled for evaluation, according to Dr Thodupunuri. One child had travelled from Delhi at a comparatively early stage, while two children from Hingoli in Maharashtra had arrived in a critical condition during the later stages of the disease. He said the institute had seen only minimal change among children who were already bedridden.

The free camp will run from 10 am to 5 pm at Resplice Autism Research Foundation, in Manikonda. Children with suspected or diagnosed SSPE and those with a documented measles history may attend. Registrations can be made through 9100065552 or 8433529769.