Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0085437 (bacterial meningitis)
 4,038 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

An immunocytochemical technique allowing repeated use of antisera is applied to identify immunoglobulin-containing cells (ICC) of the IgG, IgA, and IgM class in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 298 patients with various neurological disorders. The demonstration of ICC in the CSF is highly indicative of an inflammatory disease (p less than 0.0001; Chi-square test). In the group of noninflammatory disorders ICC are only found in three cases of lymphomas, two dysgerminomas, and one glioblastoma. ICC of all classes are seen in acute viral and bacterial infections of the CNS including tick-borne meningopolyneuritis Bannwarth. IgG-positive ICC predominate in chronic inflammatory disorders like multiple sclerosis and HIV encephalitis. In HIV-positive patients IgA- or IgM-positive cells are strongly indicative of an opportunistic infection of the brain. Persistent high levels of ICC in three patients with bacterial meningitis are associated with a fatal outcome.
 ...
PMID:Class differentiation of immunoglobulin-containing cerebrospinal fluid cells in inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system. 230 66

The patient was a 75-year-old male, who simultaneously showed symptoms of bacterial meningitis during steroid treatment for erythroderma and symptoms of respiratory failure. Based on ground-glass shadows in both lungs on chest X ray, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was carried out and strongyloides was detected. In addition to strongyloidiasis, the patient was shown to have the complication of pneumocystis carinii (PC) pneumonia after PC DNA was detected in BAL fluid using a PCR assay. When other causes for immunodeficiency affecting the incidence of opportunistic infection were investigated, the ATL virus was detected in peripheral blood cells and monoclonal amplification was indicated, though the presence of anti-ATL antibody was negative. According to the results, this patient was found to have early stage adult T cell leukemia. In conclusion, we treated this adult T cell leukemia patient who had strongyloidiasis and amplification of PC DNA in BAL and for which the PCR assay, a new technology used for diagnosing PC pneumonia, was considered to be effective.
 ...
PMID:[A case of adult T cell leukemia complicated with strongyloidiasis and amplification of pneumocystis carinii DNA in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid]. 804 Oct 45

Zimbabwe is a high prevalence area for HIV infection, and provides opportunities for studying complications of AIDS in both antiretroviral naive and treated groups of patients. Figures for HIV prevalence are among the highest in the world, but the number of people receiving treatment is very small. Economic and political factors contribute to this important health crisis. Opportunistic diseases as a whole and their relative frequencies of presentation in southern Africa are discussed, emphasizing the lead role of tuberculosis. The limited data that do exist regarding neurological complications in Zimbabwe are summarized, and combined with anecdotal experience from practicing clinicians. Opportunistic infections in the nervous system are very common, the most important being cryptococcal meningitis, causing half of all adult meningitis in the country. Tuberculous and bacterial meningitis have also become more common and carry a high mortality in HIV-infected people in Zimbabwe. Intracranial mass lesions, including tuberculoma, bacterial abscesses and toxoplasmosis encephalitis are less common and difficult to diagnose in the absence of stereotactic biopsy. Spinal tuberculosis and transverse myelitis are the most frequent causes of spinal cord opportunistic infections. Peripheral neuropathy is probably similar in presentation to that seen elsewhere, whereas dementia is less frequently recognized.
 ...
PMID:Neurological complications of human immunodeficiency virus infection in Zimbabwe-2005. 1654 Apr 50