HHV-6 & Amnesia

Transplant associated HHV-6 encephalitis can result in amnesia.  Case reports include:

• Nine allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) patients developed a consistent pattern of anterograde amnesia, inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion, temporal EEG abnormalities, and clinical or subclinical seizures. (Seeley 2007)

• Four patients were reported to develop anterograde amnesia and seizures after stem cell transplants. (Gorniak 2006)

• A 20-year-old university student developed acute amnesia one month after a bone marrow transplant. HHV-6 was the only virus detectable in the serum or spinal fluid. The patient recovered after antiviral treatment. (MacLean 2002)

• A 46-year-old cancer patient developed severe short term memory dysfunction due to HHV-6 encephalitis after a stem cell transplant. (Visser 2005)

• A 10-year-old girl with leukemia developed amnesia after an unrelated cord blood transplant. HHV-6 was found in the spinal fluid. Symptoms were resolved with antiviral treatment. (Carvajal 2001)