The changing face of paranasal sinus fungus balls.

Objectives: We describe the clinical, radiographic, and histopathologic characteristics of fungus balls.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of 24 consecutive patients with the diagnosis of a paranasal sinus fungus ball (mycetoma) from 2001 to 2008.

Results: We found that 18 of the 24 primarily involved sinuses had bony thickening, and 13 of the 24 had notable dilatation of the ostium.

Malacoplakia of the cranium and cerebrum in a human immunodeficiency virus-infected man. Case report.

Malacoplakia is a rare chronic inflammatory disease associated with infection and immunosuppression, and very few occurrences have been reported in the cerebrum. The authors describe the case of a 41-year-old man with advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection who presented with a very aggressive malacoplakia lesion that had extended through the scalp, temporalis muscle, skull bone, and deep through the dura mater into the superior sagittal sinus and adjacent brain. Pathological examination revealed sheets of histiocytes invading these structures, and macrophages containing numerous round bodies known as Michaelis-Guttmann bodies, pathognomic for malacoplakia.

Use of interferon-alpha in patients with West Nile encephalitis: report of 2 cases.

We describe 2 patients with West Nile virus (WNV) encephalitis who were treated experimentally with interferon (IFN)-alpha. Both patients demonstrated substantial improvement in mentation and speech on the second day of experimental therapy, and neither required endotracheal intubation or admission to the intensive care unit during hospitalization. Moreover, during the 9-month follow-up period, one patient achieved complete recovery, and the other nearly achieved complete resolution of sequelae.