Dexamethasone inhibits brain apoptosis in mice with eosinophilic meningitis caused by Angiostrongylus cantonensis infection.

Background: Angiostrongylus cantonensis, the rat lungworm, is the major cause of eosinophilic meningitis worldwide. Rats serve as the definitive host of the nematode, but humans can be infected incidentally, leading to eosinophilic meningitis. A previous BALB/c animal study has demonstrated increased apoptotic proteins and decreased anti-apoptotic proteins in mice infected with A.

Dexamethasone downregulated the expression of CSF 14-3-3β protein in mice with eosinophilic meningitis caused by Angiostrongylus cantonensis infection.

Angiostrongylus cantonensis is the main causative agent of human eosinophilic meningitis in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. A previous study demonstrated that the 14-3-3β protein is a neuropathological marker in monitoring neuronal damage in meningitis. Steroids are commonly used in patients with eosinophilic meningitis caused by A.