Infections in the Immunocompromised Host: Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy and Nocardiosis
Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy. Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a disease caused by the JC virus, a polyoma virus that is acquired in childhood, establishes latent infection in the kidneys and…
Parameningeal Infections
SPINAL EPIDURAL ABSCESS A spinal epidural abscess develops in the space outside the dura mater but within the spinal canal as a result of the hematogenous spread of infection from…
Brain Abscess
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with contrast administration is the neuroimaging procedure of choice, because MRI is better able to demonstrate an abscess that is in the cerebritis stage than a…
Bacterial Meningitis (Continued)
In patients with a clinical presentation of meningitis and a CSF lymphocytic pleocytosis with a decreased glucose concentration, fungal infections, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, sarcoidosis, and lymphoma/leptomeningeal metastases are in the differential…
Bacterial Meningitis
The meningeal pathogen can be predicted by the patient’s age. In neonates, the most common pathogens are group B streptococci (Streptococcus agalactiae), gram-negative bacilli, and Listeria monocytogenes. In children, adolescents,…
Neuroimmunology: Paraneoplastic and Other Autoimmune Syndromes—Peripheral Motor Sensory Unit
CRANIAL NERVES Paraneoplastic autoimmune vision loss–associated optic neuritis, retinitis, and vitreous inflammation is syndromic with CRMP-5 IgG and SCLC. Although autoimmune retinopathy lacks inflammatory infiltrates, visual loss can be severe….
Neuroimmunology: Paraneoplastic and Other Autoimmune Syndromes—Central Nervous System
Limbic encephalitis is characterized by cognitive impairment, seizures, and behavioral abnormalities and may occur as a primary autoimmune or paraneoplastic condition. The most commonly associated neoplasm is small cell lung…
Paraneoplastic Immune-Mediated Disorders (Continued)
The evolution of our understanding of paraneoplastic autoimmunity began with descriptions of particular syndromes associated with specific cancers and subsequent individual autoantibody identification. Antineuronal nuclear autoantibody type-1 (ANNA-1), also known…
Paraneoplastic Immune-Mediated Disorders
Immune-mediated paraneoplastic neurologic disease (PND) occurs as a consequence of the body’s immune response to a neoplasm. This is a complex interaction evolving during tumor development, varying with tumor type,…
