Coordinates

33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N

{{infobox disease | name

Encephalitis | Image Hsv_encephalitis.jpg | Caption Coronal T2-weighted MR image shows high signal in the temporal lobes including hippocampal formations and parahippogampal gyrae, insulae, and right inferior frontal gyrus. A brain biopsy was performed and the histology was consistent with encephalitis. PCR was repeated on the biopsy specimen and was positive for HSV | DiseasesDB 22543 | ICD10 -, , | ICD9 | ICDO | OMIM | MedlinePlus | eMedicineSubj emerg | eMedicineTopic 163 | MeshID D004660 }}

Encephalitis is an acute inflammation of the brain. Encephalitis with meningitis is known as meningoencephalitis. Symptoms include headache, fever, confusion, drowsiness, and fatigue. More advanced and serious symptoms include seizures or convulsions, tremors, hallucinations, and memory problems.

Cause

Viral

Viral encephalitis can occur either as a direct effect of an acute infection, or as one of the sequelae of a latent infection. A common cause of encephalitis in humans is herpes simplex virus type I (HSE) which may cause inflammation of the brain. This can result in death. Other causes include infection by flaviviruses such as St. Louis encephalitis or West Nile virus, or by Togaviridae such as Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), Western equine encephalitis (WEE) or Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE).

Bacterial and other

It can be caused by a bacterial infection, such as bacterial meningitis, spreading directly to the brain (primary encephalitis), or may be a complication of a current infectious disease syphilis (secondary encephalitis). Certain parasitic or protozoal infestations, such as toxoplasmosis, malaria, or primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, can also cause encephalitis in people with compromised immune systems. Lyme disease and/or Bartonella henselae may also cause encephalitis.

Another cause is granulomatous amoebic encephalitis.

Diagnosis

Adult patients with encephalitis present with acute onset of fever, headache, confusion, and sometimes seizures. Younger children or infants may present irritability, poor appetite and fever.

Neurological examinations usually reveal a drowsy or confused patient. Stiff neck, due to the irritation of the meninges covering the brain, indicates that the patient has either meningitis or meningoencephalitis. Examination of the cerebrospinal fluid obtained by a lumbar puncture procedure usually reveals increased amounts of protein and white blood cells with normal glucose, though in a significant percentage of patients, the cerebrospinal fluid may be normal. CT scan often is not helpful, as cerebral abscess is uncommon. Cerebral abscess is more common in patients with meningitis than encephalitis. Bleeding is also uncommon except in patients with herpes simplex type 1 encephalitis. Magnetic resonance imaging offers better resolution. In patients with herpes simplex encephalitis, electroencephalograph may show sharp waves in one or both of the temporal lobes. Lumbar puncture procedure is performed only after the possibility of prominent brain swelling is excluded by a CT scan examination. Diagnosis is often made with detection of antibodies in the cerebrospinal fluid against a specific viral agent (such as herpes simplex virus) or by polymerase chain reaction that amplifies the RNA or DNA of the virus responsible (such as varicella zoster virus).

Treatment

Treatment is usually symptomatic. Reliably tested specific antiviral agents are available only for a few viral agents (e.g. acyclovir for herpes simplex virus) and are used with limited success for most infection except herpes simplex encephalitis. In patients who are very sick, supportive treatment, such as mechanical ventilation, is equally important. Corticosteroids (e.g. methylprednisolone) are used to reduce brain swelling and inflammation. Sedatives may be needed for irritability or restlessness.

Encephalitis lethargica

Encephalitis lethargica is an atypical form of encephalitis which caused an epidemic from 1918 to 1930. Those who survived sank into a semi-conscious state that lasted for decades until the Parkinson's drug L-DOPA was used to revive those still alive in the late 1960s by Oliver Sacks.

There have been only a small number of isolated cases in the years since, though in recent years a few patients have shown very similar symptoms. The cause is now thought to be either a bacterial agent or an autoimmune response following infection.

Limbic system encephalitis

In a large number of cases, called limbic encephalitis, the pathogens responsible for encephalitis attack primarily the limbic system (a collection of structures at the base of the brain responsible for emotions and many other basic functions).

See also

Awakenings

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome aka Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Rasmussen's encephalitis

References

External links

WHO: Viral Encephalitis

eMedicine-1 and eMedicine-2 Information on the causes, symptoms, and treatment options for Encephalitis.

A case study of a Limbic Encephalitis patient

Encephalitis Global, Inc. Encephalitis survivors, caregivers and family sharing information and support.

MR & CT scan diagnosis of HSV encephalitis Medical Image Database

* Category:Infectious diseases Category:Inflammations Category:Greek loanwords

af:Enkefalitis ar:التهاب الدماغ bs:Encefalitis bg:Енцефалит cs:Encefalitida cy:Enseffalitis de:Enzephalitis dv:ސިކުނޑި ދުޅަވުން el:Εγκεφαλίτιδα es:Encefalitis eo:Encefalito fa:آنسفالیت fr:Encéphalite ko:뇌염 hi:मस्तिष्क ज्वर hr:Encefalitis id:Radang otak it:Encefalite la:Encephalitis lt:Encefalitas hu:Agyvelőgyulladás ms:Ensefalitis nl:Hersenontsteking ja:脳炎 pl:Zapalenie mózgu pt:Encefalite ru:Энцефалит simple:Encephalitis sr:Енцефалитис fi:Aivotulehdus sv:Hjärninflammation ta:மூளையழற்சி te:మెదడువాపు tr:Ensefalit uk:Енцефаліт vi:Viêm não zh:脑炎

Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
name	Rahul Gandhi
birth date	June 19, 1970
birth place	New Delhi, India
residence	New Delhi, India
nationality	Indian
office1	Member of Lok Sabha from Amethi
term start1	2004
office2	General Secretary of the Indian National Congress
term start2	2007
office3	Chairperson of IYC and NSUI
term start3	2007
alma mater	Rollins CollegeTrinity College, Cambridge
relations	Rajiv Gandhi (father) Sonia Gandhi (mother)
party	Indian National Congress
signature	Signature of Rahul Gandhi.svg
date	5 June
year	2011
signature	}}

Rahul Gandhi ( ; born 19 June 1970) is an Indian politician and member of the parliament of India, representing the Amethi constituency. His political party is the Indian National Congress.

Early life and career

Rahul Gandhi was born in Delhi on 19 June 1970 as the first of the two children of Rajiv Gandhi, who later became the Prime Minister of India and Sonia Gandhi, who later became President of Indian National Congress, and as the grandson of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He is also the great-grandson of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Priyanka Vadra is his younger sister. His mother, Sonia Gandhi, is originally from Turin, Italy; his parents met in Cambridge, England where she was a student at Bell Educational Trust's language school and he, an engineering student at Trinity College. They married in New Delhi in 1968. Rajiv Gandhi later obtained a commercial pilot's license and was a pilot in Indian Airlines when Rahul was born.

Rahul Gandhi attended St. Columba's School, Delhi before entering The Doon School in Dehradun (Uttarakhand), also his father's ''alma mater'', from 1981–83. Meanwhile, his father had joined politics and became the Prime Minister on October 31, 1984 when Indira Gandhi was assassinated. Due to the security threats faced by Indira Gandhi's family from Sikh extremists, Rahul Gandhi and his sister, Priyanka were home-schooled since then. Rahul Gandhi joined St. Stephen's College, Delhi in 1989 for his undergraduate education but moved to Harvard University after he completed the first year examinations. In 1991, after Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by LTTE during an election rally, he shifted to Rollins College due to security concerns and completed his B.A. in 1994. During this period, he assumed the pseudonym Raul Vinci and his identity was known only to the university officials and security agencies. He further went on to obtain a M.Phil from Trinity College, Cambridge University in 1995. After graduation, Rahul Gandhi worked at the Monitor Group, a management consulting firm, in London. In 2002 he was one of the directors of Mumbai-based technology outsourcing firm Backops Services Private Ltd.

In 2004, Rahul Gandhi told the press that he has a girlfriend Veronique, a Spanish architect who lives in Venezuela.

Political career

In 2003, there was widespread media speculation on the issue of Rahul Gandhi's imminent entry into active politics, which he did not confirm. Sonia Gandhi, his mother, had joined politics in 1997 after staying away for years despite the demands by Congress party and had become the president of Indian National Congress. In 1999 General Elections, he appeared with his mother at public events and Congress meetings. He also traveled to Pakistan on a goodwill visit to watch the first cricket series between the countries in 14 years in a One Day International with his sister Priyanka Gandhi.

Speculation heightened in January 2004 about his and his sister's possible entry into politics when they visited their father's former constituency of Amethi, which their mother held at the time. He refused to give a definitive response, stating "I am not averse to politics. I have not decided when I will enter politics and indeed, if I ever will."

In March 2004, he announced his entry into politics by announcing that he would contest the May 2004 elections, standing for his father's former constituency of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha, India's lower house of Parliament. Before that, his uncle Sanjay held the seat before his death in a plane crash. The seat had been held by his mother until she transferred to the neighbouring seat of Rae Bareilly. The Congress had been doing poorly in Uttar Pradesh, holding only 10 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state at the time. At the time, this move generated surprise among political commentators, who had regarded his sister Priyanka as being the more charismatic and likely to succeed. Party officials did not have a curriculum vitae ready for the media, such was the surprise of his move. It generated speculation that the presence of a young member of India's most famous political family would reinvigorate the Congress party's political fortunes among India's youthful population In his first interview with foreign media, he portrayed himself as a uniter of the country and condemned "divisive" politics in India, saying that he would try to reduce caste and religious tensions. His candidature was greeted with excitement by locals, who had a long standing affinity with the family's presence in the area. , Politician of Indian National Congress He won with a landslide majority, retaining the family stronghold with a margin of over 100,000 as the Congress unexpectedly defeated the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Until 2006 he held no other office and concentrated mainly on constituency issues and the politics of Uttar Pradesh, and it was widely speculated in the Indian and international press that Sonia Gandhi is trying to groom him for a chance to become a national-level Congress leader in the future.

In January 2006, at a convention of the Indian National Congress in Hyderabad, thousands of party members asked for Gandhi to take a more prominent leadership role in the party and demanded that he address the delegates. He said "I appreciate and I am grateful for your feelings and support. I assure you I will not let you down", but asked for patience and declined to immediately seek a higher profile role.

Gandhi and his sister (married to Robert Vadhera) managed their mother's campaign for reelection to Rae Bareilly in 2006, which was won easily with a margin greater than 400,000 votes.

He was a prominent figure in a high profile Congress campaign for the 2007 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections; Congress, however, won only 22 seats with 8.53% of votes. The election saw the Bahujan Samaj Party, which represents low caste Indians, to become the first party to govern in its own right in Uttar Pradesh in 16 years.

Rahul Gandhi was appointed a general secretary of the All India Congress Committee on 24 September 2007 in a reshuffle of the party secretariat. In the same reshuffle, he was also given charge of the Indian Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India.

In 2008, senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily mentioned “Rahul-as-PM” idea when the PM of India Manmohan Singh was still abroad. Indian Politicians drew own conclusions. Evidently, the Prime Minister also took notice of it.

Youth politics

In his attempt to prove himself as a youth leader in November 2008 he held interviews at his 12, Tughlak Lane residence in New Delhi to handpick at least 40 people who will make up the think-tank of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC), an organisation that he has been keen to transform since he was appointed general secretary in September 2007.

Under Rahul Gandhi, IYC and NSUI has seen a dramatic increase in members from a few hundred thousand to several million.

Rahul Gandhi participated in an interactive session with students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. The University student unions have been traditionally dominated by the Left. His party, INC, however, was quick to play up Rahul's visit to JNU as an “excellent example of youth participation in politics”. Rahul's grandmother, Indira Gandhi had to face huge opposition from Left student unions during her visit to the university campus in 1982 because of her decision to impose emergency. Rahul was quizzed by the students on issues ranging from hiearchial politics in India, to his visits to Dalit Houses, economic growth in the country and education reforms. Some papers, however, reported Rahul's visit to JNU as a political attempt to strengthen the newly constituted unit of NSUI at JNU.

In various reports it has been proved that Rahul Gandhi has failed in his promise to eliminate family, patronage, money from Youth Congress. It has been seen that an aspiring delegates need to pay a substantial sum as nomination fee. Hence, an aspiring office-bearer with deep pockets sponsors them thereby allowing money power to have a role in the elections.

2009 elections

In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, he retained his Amethi constituency by defeating his nearest rival by a margin of over 333,000 votes. In these elections congress is said to have revived itself in Uttar Pradesh by winning 21 out of the total 80 Lok Sabha seats and the majority of the credit for this turnaround is given to Rahul Gandhi. He spoke at 125 rallies across the country in six weeks.

He is referred to as RG in party circles.

Land Acquisition Protests Arrest

On 11 May 2011 Rahul Gandhi was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police at Bhatta Parsaul village after he turned out in support of agitating farmers demanding more compensation for their land being acquired for a highway project. He was released after being held for about three hours and later returned to New Delhi. He was to be presented before a Sub-Divisional Magistrate on 12 May 2011.

Political and legal issues

Comparison of RSS and SIMI

Rahul Gandhi has been critical of right-wing groups like the RSS and compared them to terrorist organizations like SIMI. According to a cable leaked by Wikileaks, in 2009, he allegedly shared concerns with the American ambassador to India Timothy Roemer that radicalized Hindu groups may pose a bigger threat to India than Islamic terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba. His comments on radical Hindu groups were criticized by the opposition party, as well as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Sukanya Devi

It has been alleged that Rahul Gandhi had detained a girl and her parents since 2007. On 01st Mar 2011, the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court issued a notice to Rahul Gandhi., however all the allegations were found to be false. Allahbad high court not only dismissed the case after the girl in question appeared in the court, but slapped a 50 lakh penalty against the petitioner ordering a CBI inquiry against her and websites publishing the story.

13th Jul 2011 Terror Attack remarks

On 14th Jul 2011, a day after the serial bombing in Mumbai, Rahul Gandhi gave a statement that "it was very difficult to stop every single terror attack". The remark resulted in a number of strong criticism from a number of Shiv Sena party members.

See also

Political Families of The World

References

External links

Profile at ''BBC News''

Profile at Govt. of India website

Rahul Gandhi collected news and commentary at ''The Times of India''

Category:Indian National Congress politicians Category:Nehru–Gandhi family Category:14th Lok Sabha members Category:15th Lok Sabha members Category:Doscos Category:Harvard University alumni Category:People from New Delhi Category:Rollins College alumni Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:Children of Prime Ministers of India Category:Indian people of Italian descent Category:University of Delhi alumni

bn:রাহুল গান্ধী bg:Рахул Ганди de:Rahul Gandhi fr:Rahul Gandhi gu:રાહુલ ગાંધી hi:राहुल गांधी id:Rahul Gandhi it:Rahul Gandhi jv:Rahul Gandhi ml:രാഹുൽ ഗാന്ധി mr:राहुल गांधी ne:राहुल गान्धी ja:ラーフル・ガンディー pl:Rahul Gandhi sa:राहुल् गान्धी fi:Rahul Gandhi sv:Rahul Gandhi ta:ராகுல் காந்தி te:రాహుల్ గాంధీ th:ราหุล คานธี ur:راہُل گاندھی zh:拉胡爾·甘地