subacute sclerosing panencephalitis
(sklə-rōˈsĭng)
noun An often fatal degenerative disease of the central nervous system occurring chiefly in young people, caused by slow infection with a measles virus and characterized by progressive loss of mental and motor functions ending in dementia and paralysis.
Origin:
Origin: sclerosing
Origin: , from sclerose, to harden
Origin: , back-formation from sclerosed
.
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