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A case of cryptococcal granulomatous arachnitis of the spinal cord was reported. A 12-year-old boy suffered from sudden occipitalgia and left hemiparesis. The symptoms disappeared spontaneously in about a half year. The next year, he consulted an orthopedist because of lumbago and gait disturbance. Myelography through the cisternal route showed complete block at the level of L1. Exploratory laminectomy of D12 and L1 revealed adhesive arachnitis. Symptoms were improved immediately after the operation. At the age of 15, he was admitted to our clinic, because of sudden onset of headache and vomiting. Computed tomography showed marked hydrocephalus. He recovered by ventriculoperitoneal shunt, and was discharged. The next year, sudden back pain occurred. Gait disturbance, sensory disturbance of the legs and trunks below the mamilla, and dysuria appeared gradually. He was readmitted and laminectomy of D2-4 was performed. The arachnoid membrane was white and 2 mm in thickness diffusely. Thickened arachnoid membrane was removed at the level of D2-4. Histological diagnosis was granulomatous arachnitis. Cryptococcus was seen in the removed tissue. Symptoms were improved after operation. One thousand milligrams of amphoterisin B was injected intermittently. He was discharged on food. Spinal symptoms in cryptococcosis are rare. Operative procedures were effective before the administration of amphoterisin B.
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PMID:[Cryptococcal granulomatous arachnitis of the spinal cord--a case report (author's transl)]. 49 61

The records of 24 patients with cryptococcal meningitis, admitted to King Edward VIII Hospital in Durban, were reviewed. There were 21 adults and 3 children over periods of 10 and 18 years, respectively. Slightly more males were affected. The age distribution was fairly even. The common clinical presentations were headache, neck stiffness, mental changes, cranial nerve palsies and papilloedema. The diagnosis was proved by the presense of Cryptococcus neoformans in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in 21 of the patients, and in pathological tissue in the remaining 3 patients. A significant percentage of patients presented with an initial polymorphonuclear leucocyte predominance in the CSF. The other CSF findings were elevated protein and low sugar levels. Tuberculosis was the common coexisting disease. We found the mortality rate of 58% to be very high and a significant number of patients died even after adequate treatment with amphotericin B either singly or in combination with 5-fluorocytosine.
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PMID:Cryptococcal meningitis: our experience in 24 black patients. 98 16

Benign intracranial hypertension (BICH) is a rare adverse event. We report the case of a 31-year-old female drug addict who had been seropositive for HIV since 1987. She had stage IV C1 AIDS, and was receiving intravenous amphotericin B for generalized cryptococcosis with no neuromeningeal involvement. She developed BICH that regressed when the antifungal drug was withdrawn and treatment for cerebral edema was started. BICH is a clinical entity involving intracranial hypertension with no focal neurological signs or detectable intracranial lesion. The manifestations include headache, transitory or permanent visual disturbances (diplopia, loss of visual acuity) and the perception of intracranial noise. The cerebrospinal fluid is under increased pressure but the composition is normal. The eye fundus examination shows papillary edema, and the neuroradiological workup is normal. BICH can only be diagnosed once an expansive intracranial process, neuromeningeal infection, and non-communicative hydrocephalus have been ruled out. In the majority of cases, no etiology is found. Such cases of idiopathic BICH usually occur in overweight young women, although drugs can be implicated. Amphotericin B has not previously been held responsible for BICH. On the basis of this observation, we present a review of the literature.
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PMID:[Drug-induced benign intracranial hypertension. Apropos of a case with amphotericin B. Review of the literature]. 129 80

A 43-year-old homosexual man with the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) developed cutaneous molluscum contagiosum-like lesions on face, ears, neck, hands and feet. He was admitted to our unit with fever, malaise and headache. Cytologic examination of skin brushing revealed numerous encapsulated budding yeasts, identified as Cryptococcus neoformans. Such a finding calls for a cytologic examination of skin lesions in patient with AIDS who present with fever and headache, in order to rule out a potentially life-threatening fungal infection.
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PMID:Cutaneous cryptococcosis resembling molluscum contagiosum in a homosexual man with AIDS. Report of a case and review of the literature. 135 54

This is the first report from Ethiopia of a case of cryptococcal meningitis in a patient with AIDS. A 20-year-old woman was admitted to Tikur Anbessa Hospital in January 1990 with complaints of generalized pruritic skin lesions of six months, and headache, fever, and poor appetite of three months duration. The headache and low-grade intermittent fever were accompanied by nausea, vomiting, anorexia, and progressive weight loss, without diarrhea. She had had multiple sex partners. Upon admission, after being bedridden for two weeks, she appeared acutely ill and restless. Her temperature was 39.5 degrees Celsius, and she had oral thrush. There was no lymphadenopathy. Widespread, irregular erythematous and whitish macular patches (3 x 5 to 8 x 10 sq. cm in size) with peripheral scaling and tiny vesicles were found on the skin, pubic and perineal regions. She had neck stiffness, but was conscious and well-oriented. Hemoglobin (Hb) was 10.5 g%; the white cell count (WBC) was 3400/cu. mm; the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was 92 mm/hr; the platelet count was 175,000/mm; and blood films were negative for hemoparasites. Urinalysis showed 3+ albumin and many pus cells and red cells/HPF. Urine culture was negative, and the VDRL test was nonreactive. Lumbar puncture, which was performed upon arrival, showed clear cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), with normal protein and glucose levels and no cells. CSF culture showed yeast cells, and an India ink preparation was positive for Cryptococcus neoformans. Blood taken for bacterial culture grew yeast cells. Renal and liver function tests, and chest x-rays were normal. A potassium hydroxide (KOH) preparation from a skin snip showed rounded yeast cells. ELISA and Western blot tests were both positive. The patient was given supportive treatment and amphotericin B (0.6 mg/kg daily). Although the fever decreased, the patient's general condition did not improve. She complained of headache, photophobia, nausea, and vomiting. Lumbar puncture was repeated eight days after the start of treatment; CSF culture and India ink preparations were negative. Urea nitrogen (BUN) repeated two weeks later was normal. Four weeks after admission, the patient suddenly vomited massive amounts of fresh blood and died before transfusion could be given. A discussion follows regarding the clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of this disease, particularly in AIDS patients, with a review of the literature.
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PMID:Cryptococcal meningitis in a young Ethiopian woman with AIDS. 139 20

In July 1990 in Zaire, a 36-year-old man was admitted to the University Clinic in Kinshasa for intense headaches, fever, vertigo, vision troubles, hallucinations, and irregular speech. He exhibited moderate wasting, left facial paralysis, and prurigo spots on the legs. Laboratory examinations revealed HIV seropositivity, antibodies to cryptococci, protein in the cerebrospinal fluid, and glucose in the cerebrospinal fluid. He was placed on 400 mg/d fluconazole. He died on August 4, two days after slipping into a coma. Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii was isolated. The man had lived in a free union with two women. One died in 1989 of an illness characterized by persistent fever, considerable wasting, and pulmonary tuberculosis. The other woman is still alive although often having febrile episodes. She is HIV seropositive. Before AIDS arrived, cryptococcosis was rare in Zaire and Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii was the most common etiologic agent. With AIDS, cryptococcosis has become an opportunistic infection. Since 1983, all cryptococcosis cases at the university clinics were a complication of AIDS. Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans was the etiologic agent in all these cases. It is possible that exposure to neoformans variety is more common than exposure to gattii variety. It is therefore an epidemiologic problem intimately associated with the geographic topography specific to ecological niches of these two varieties. Neoformans variety is found in pigeon droppings, while gattii variety has never been found in bird droppings. Gattii's natural host is the eucalyptus tree, found in Zaire. The case lived 400 m from a eucalyptus plantation. He was the only gattii variety cryptococcosis case in 1990-1991 among the 49 cryptococcosis cases at the Kinshasa University Clinics. In conclusion, gattii variety rarely causes cryptococcosis among AIDS patients because its natural reservoir is rare in urban areas where the AIDS epidemic is centered.
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PMID:[Cryptococcosis caused by Cryptococcus neoformans var. Gattii. A case associated with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in Kinshasa, Zaire]. 149 13

Neuro-cryptococcosis is a common opportunistic infection in AIDS or HIV infected patients. From a series of 10 neuro-cryptococcosis the four of them studied by magnetic resonance (MR) are reported. In AIDS patients a high suspicion of opportunistic infection of the CNS is needed as exemplified by two of the four patients who only presented cephalalgia. The other two patients suffered additional symptoms and signs of meningeal and CNS involvement, such as nuchal rigidity, cranial nerve palsies, papilloedema, gait ataxia and dismetria. Diagnosis was achieved (confirmed) by a positive culture, serology or indian ink test in CSF. CT scan did not contribute to the diagnosis and management of the patients. In contrast MR, showed in three of them a peculiar pattern of small, confluent, high-signal lesions, roughly symmetrically placed in the basal ganglia and the internal capsule. They probably correspond to the dilated Virchow-Robin spaces through which torulae migrate from the subarachnoid space.
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PMID:[Use of magnetic resonance in the diagnosis of neuro-cryptococcosis in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: study of 4 patients]. 155 79

2 AIDS patients are described who had cryptococcal meningitis accompanied by increased intracranial pressure (ICP) and visual complications, a finding thought to be relatively rare in AIDS. Of the 2-6% of AIDS patients who develop cryptococcal meningitis, many have disseminated and recurrent infections. The 1st case was a 45-year old Ugandan woman who presented with stiff neck, and right VIth cranial nerve palsy. She was treated with amphotericin B and flucytosine with some improvement, but on the 9th day she awoke with headache, drowsiness, and total blindness, although no papilledema. Her CSF pressure was 40 cm H20. She recovered after a month of intravenous chemotherapy and acetazolamide, but remained blind. Her sudden blindness was thought to be due to bilateral optic nerve infarction. The 2nd case was a 32-year old male homosexual, admitted with headache, vomiting, confusion, and drowsiness. He had stiff neck, and a CSF of 40 cm containing Cryptococcus neoformans. He was given amphotericin B, flucytosine, and has CSF drained every other day. On day 21 papilledema was seen in the right eye, and acetazolamide was started to lower CSF pressure. This patient recovered without loss of vision. 3 published series of cryptococcus meningitis in AIDS patients remarked about the low incidence of raised ICP, while 1 reported 9 of 27 with neurological and ophthalmic complications. The visual complications and increased ICP in these patients was thought to be due to inflammatory arachnoiditis or direct cryptococcal infiltration.
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PMID:Raised intracranial pressure and visual complications in AIDS patients with cryptococcal meningitis. 156 10

Cryptococcus neoformans is an important opportunist pathogen in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) 3rd after primary HIV neuropathy an Toxoplasma gondii among infectious neurological diseases in AIDS patients. Extrapulmonary infection due to C. neoformans has occurred in up to 13% of patients. 86% of the Cryptococcus spp isolates in the US, Canada, and Japan are serotype A. Thousands of infection due to var neoformans have been reported in AIDS patients but only 3 cases of var gattii. Cryptococcal pneumonia meningitis appears in 63-84% of AIDS patients with symptoms of fever, headache, meningism, and photophobia. 17-37% of AIDS patients with Cm die during therapy, and only 18-30% live over 12 months. Treatment in patients without immunodeficiency deficit is with a combination of .3 mg/kg/day of amphotericin B and 150 mg/kg/day of flucytosine for 4 weeks. A dose of .5-.8 mg/kg/day amphotericin was most effective although renal toxicity occurred in 80% of patients. Fluconazole has been used since 1987: cerebrospinal fluid concentrations reached 60-80% in serum. Treatment in 8 of 14 patients receiving 400 mg/day fluconazole failed while it did not in 6 patients treated with .7 mg/kg/day of amphotericin for 7 days and flucytosine 100 mg/kg/day. 200 mg/bid itraconazole was given to 32 patients with cryptococcosis (24 CM cases and 26 AIDS victims) and 65% of CM patients improved clinically with negative cultures. The relapse of 2 of 106 patients taking 200 mg/day fluconazole and 13 of 77 patients taking 1 mg/kg/week amphotericin B occurred in maintenance therapy. CM was suppressed in 10 of 15 patients with 400 mg/kg itrazonazole. Prophylactic use of azole drugs in AIDS does not protect completely from CM although it reduced systemic fungal infections such as cryptococcosis.
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PMID:Cryptococcal infection in AIDS. 161 62

In the immunocompromised patient, even mild forms of any combination of headache, meningismus, altered mental status, or focal neurologic signs should initiate an evaluation for possible CNS infection. The limited signs and symptoms of acute CNS infection are not due to specific organisms but to pathologic changes at the neuroanatomic site of infection. The initial clinical history, examination, laboratory, and neuroradiographic data will narrow the problem to one of several groups of agents, although it may not be possible to specify a single causative agent. It should be remembered that several concurrent infections (i.e., CMV and toxoplasmosis, aspergillosis, and bacterial sepsis) may be present. Thus, the clinician should rely on broad antibiotic coverage appropriate to the suspected causative agent or agents at the site of infection. It may be necessary to offer broad-spectrum antibiotic coverage for a CSF presentation that is subsequently found to result from a viral illness or from a noninfectious cause. However, one should avoid undertreating those infections for which specific therapy can be offered, and broad-spectrum treatment usually will not be regretted. Uncertainty in diagnosis following noninvasive procedures should lead to a brain biopsy. Although many of the infections discussed in this article have a poor prognosis, some of the most common pathogens, such as Cryptococcus, Listeria, and Toxoplasma, have effective specific therapies to which the patient should have access as rapidly as possible. The clinician who has successfully treated a patient with CNS infection should remain vigilant for late sequelae or recurrence of infection. Chronic treatment of some infections, such as toxoplasmosis or aspergillosis, may be necessary. The reintroduction of steroids for the treatment of an underlying cancer may reactivate previously treated disease, such as cryptococcosis, and periodic CSF surveillance is appropriate under these circumstances. Recurrence of the symptoms should raise the suspicion of recurrent or new infection, and the patient also should be evaluated with CT or MRI for the development of hydrocephalus or for new metastatic disease. In patients who have had varicella-zoster infection, postherpetic neuralgia and delayed arteritis may develop. Seizures, hearing loss, and neuropsychologic sequelae may follow any meningoencephalitis. The patient should always be reevaluated for the possibility of infection with a different opportunistic organism. CNS infections remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality in immunosuppressed patients with malignancies. In one series, 60% of such patients died as a result of their CNS infection, many at a time when the underlying disease had an otherwise good prognosis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Central nervous system infections in cancer patients. 175 29


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