Could rotavirus cause encephalitis in children? In California (

) two children with rotavirus diarrhoea developed encephalopathy and had rotavirus RNA in their cerebrospinal fluids. Whether the virus was a true CNS pathogen or a contaminant in each case is uncertain. A retrospective analysis of hospital discharge data suggested that 7% of children with bacterial diarrhoea, but less than 4% of children with rotavirus diarrhoea, had seizures during the episode. In all, some 19 children with possible rotavirus infection of the central nervous system have been described since 1978, including a case report in this journal in 1986.

Very obese children have stiff arteries and evidence of endothelial dysfunction. In Paris (

) 48 children (aged 4–16 years) with severe obesity (body mass index 3-8 SDs above the mean) were compared with 27 control children. Ultrasound imaging of the carotid artery showed reduced arterial compliance and distensibility. Endothelial dysfunction in the obese children was indicated by reduced brachial artery dilation in response to reactive hyperaemia (endothelium dependent) and to glyceryl trinitrate (endothelium independent).

Metapneumovirus is a genus of the subfamily Pneumovirinae (which includes the respiratory syncytial virus) of the family Paramyxoviridae. Until recently there has been only one known metapneumovirus, the avian pneumovirus which …