Immune electron microscopic study of interactions between measles virus nucleocapsids and antibodies from sera of patients with SSPE
Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis(SSPE)is a progressive degenerative disease of the central nervous system. This disease is generally associated with a chronic infection with measles virus. If measles virus is clearly involved however additional factors must determine the onset of SSPE. Hall and Ter Meulen reported that if “all the genetic information of measles virus is contained in SSPE virus, the latter apparently contain an additional 10% information”. They thought that “if a recombination occurs with another second virus, then it is with the intact genome of measles virus and a defective genome of the second virus ”. Previously Lebon et al. report ed the presence in sera/from patients with SSPE of antibodies able to precipitate an antigen of canine distemper virus. Antibodies of this type have not been detected inhuman sera with confirmed measles antibodies.