753 results match your criteria: "Imaging in CNS Toxoplasmosis"

Article Synopsis
  • A 55-year-old woman with HIV/AIDS, adhering to her antiretroviral therapy, was hospitalized due to swallowing difficulties and swollen lymph nodes, revealing a rare case of disseminated histoplasmosis and suspected cerebral toxoplasmosis.
  • The diagnosis was confirmed through various tests, including a biopsy, (1-3) -β-glucan assay, and imaging studies.
  • This case underscores the challenges of managing opportunistic infections during immune recovery in HIV patients and the importance of vigilant monitoring and comprehensive diagnostics.
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Article Synopsis
  • Ring-enhancing lesions are commonly found in patients with weakened immune systems, often due to conditions like HIV/AIDS or cancer, and can result from infections, tumors, or vascular issues.
  • A South American male in his 30s, with no previous medical history, arrived at the emergency department after a seizure, leading to brain imaging that revealed a solitary ring-enhancing lesion.
  • Despite thorough testing and consultations, including negative results for major infections, it was determined that the lesion stemmed from a prior infection, making this case significant given his lack of known risk factors.
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Unlabelled: Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic infection that can present in various clinical forms, ranging from asymptomatic to severe neurological manifestations. The primary sources of infection include undercooked meat, unwashed produce and contact with cat faeces. Toxoplasmosis can lead to encephalitis, particularly in immunocompromised patients, and is often misdiagnosed as other neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS).

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Microcephaly is defined as an occipitofrontal head circumference two standard deviations (2SD) below average for age and sex, with severe microcephaly below three standard deviations (3SD). Congenital toxoplasmosis is one of the congenital infections that can potentially lead to microcephaly. It reflects neurotropism for fetal central nervous system (CNS) cells from toxoplasma, causing massive destruction of neural tissue, resulting in serious neurological damage.

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Kidney transplant recipients are at increased risk of opportunistic infections and malignancy, including space-occupying intracranial lesions. Here, we present a case of a patient presenting with multiple intracranial lesions in the context of a distant history of transplantation. MRI findings were consistent with a large subcortical enhancing lesion.

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Coinfection of cerebral toxoplasmosis and neurosyphilis as the first manifestation of AIDS.

BMJ Case Rep

September 2024

Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, USA

Article Synopsis
  • - A 30-something man with newly diagnosed HIV (CD4 count of 292) showed symptoms like headaches and weakness in limbs, alongside a history of skin rashes that had resolved on their own.
  • - Imaging tests (CT and MRI) revealed significant brain swelling and two enhancing masses, indicating severe issues possibly related to both cerebral toxoplasmosis and neurosyphilis.
  • - The patient received treatment with trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and intravenous penicillin G, leading to a full resolution of his symptoms.
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Unlabelled: Tumefactive multiple sclerosis (TMS) is a rare variant of multiple sclerosis that presents with a large demyelinating lesion in the central nervous system, accompanied by peripheral ring-like enhancement, perilesional oedema and mass effect. We report a case of a 59-year-old woman who was admitted to the hospital with a four-day history of somnolence, muscle weakness in her left extremities and ultimately, loss of consciousness. Over the following 48 hours, the patient's condition worsened with progressive consciousness impairment.

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Primary cerebral lymphoma in immunocompromised patients is rare and challenging to diagnose. Its presentation can have similarities with other opportunistic diseases like cerebral toxoplasmosis and tuberculoma, to name a few, which may affect the subsequent management. Here, we report a case of a gentleman with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who presented with clinical features of fever, confusion, and generalized lethargy.

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Cerebral toxoplasmosis mimicking stroke in a woman living with undiagnosed HIV.

J Infect Public Health

August 2024

Department of Neurology and Centre for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Army Medical Centre of PLA, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China. Electronic address:

Toxoplasma gondii is an opportunistic pathogen that can intrude into the blood-brain barrier and reside in the brain only with low inflammatory reaction. When infected with HIV, the immune system becomes severely compromised and leads to the reactivation of latent toxoplasmosis infection, which can mimic the clinical manifestation of stroke. We report a case of a 65-year-old female patient who presented with sudden right limb weakness, walking difficulty, and numbness without other typical symptoms, raising suspicion of acute ischemic stroke.

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Syphilis is a chronic infectious disease, which dates back to the XV century and is caused by the spirochete treponema pallidum, capable of invading the central nervous system in any of its stages- Its incidence has increased in parallel to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and the synergism between both pathologies is such. that it has become a public health problem in recent years. Here we present the case of a 31-year-old female patient, who consulted for headache associated with decreased visual acuity and provided an unenhanced head CT showing hypodense lesions in both thalamic regions, serological tests for syphilis were reactive and those for HIV were not reactive.

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Background: Neurological manifestations are one of the major concerns for patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The secondary spectrum includes space-occupying lesions (SOL), including tuberculoma, cryptococcosis, candidiasis, toxoplasmosis, primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL), and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML).

Aim: To assess the neurological manifestations, disease outcome, and their associations with cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) counts in patients with HIV.

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Various opportunistic infections develop during immunodeficiency due to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The treatment options for malignant lymphoma (ML) and toxoplasmic encephalitis (TE) are completely different; therefore, their discrimination is critical. A 25-year-old female of foreign nationality had been experiencing headaches for several weeks and suddenly developed convulsions.

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In this case report, we describe a 76-year-old woman, presenting with dizziness for the past 2 months, without other focal neurological signs. A magnetic resonance imaging of the brain was ordered by her GP. The MRI demonstrated multiple ring-enhancing lesions, both supratentorial and infratentorial.

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Primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL) accounts for up to 15% of non-Hodgkin lymphomas in HIV patients and is the second most common cause of space-occupying brain lesions in HIV patients after CNS toxoplasmosis. Differentiation of PCNL and CNS toxoplasmosis is crucial as PCNL carries a poor prognosis with survival time of 2-4 months without treatment but can be improved with prompt initiation of chemotherapy. These two entities often present clinically in a similar manner, and conventional imaging can also be a diagnostic challenge due to overlapping imaging characteristics.

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Infectious Diseases of the Brain and Spine: Parasitic and Other Atypical Transmissible Diseases.

Magn Reson Imaging Clin N Am

May 2024

Division of Neuroradiology, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address:

Atypical infections of the brain and spine caused by parasites occur in immunocompetent and immunosuppressed hosts, related to exposure and more prevalently in endemic regions. In the United States, the most common parasitic infections that lead to central nervous system manifestations include cysticercosis, echinococcosis, and toxoplasmosis, with toxoplasmosis being the most common opportunistic infection affecting patients with advanced HIV/AIDS. Another rare but devastating transmittable disease is prion disease, which causes rapidly progressive spongiform encephalopathies.

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Due to their immunocompromised state, recipients of hematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCTs) are at a higher risk of opportunistic infections, such as that of toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis is a rare but mortal infection that can cause severe neurological symptoms, including confusion. In immunosuppressed individuals, such as those with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), toxoplasmosis can cause movement disorders, including hemichorea-hemiballismus.

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CEREBRAL TOXOPLASMOSIS IN THE COURSE OF HIV INFECTION - CASE STUDY.

Pol Merkur Lekarski

January 2024

CLINICAL NEUROLOGY DEPARTMENT WITH STROKE UNIT, 5TH MILITARY CLINICAL HOSPITAL WITH POLYCLINIC IN CRACOW, CRACOW, POLAND.

Objective: Aim: To the aim of our study is to draw attention to the need to take into account HIV infection and its complications, such as CNS toxoplasmosis, in the differential diagnosis of people presenting with impaired consciousness. We analyzed our patient's medical records and available statistical data on HIV infection, as well as literature on nervous system involvement in the course of AIDS.

Patients And Methods: Materials and Methods: In our paper, we present the case of a 43-year-old male who was admitted to a neurological ward due to impaired consciousness.

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Cerebral edema frequently develops in the setting of brain infection and can contribute to elevated intracranial pressure, a medical emergency. How excess fluid is cleared from the brain is not well understood. Previous studies have shown that interstitial fluid is transported out of the brain along perivascular channels that collect into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-filled subarachnoid space.

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Animal Models for Toxoplasma gondii Infection.

Curr Protoc

September 2023

Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite that commonly infects mammals and birds throughout the world. This protocol describes murine models of acute T. gondii infection, toxoplasmic encephalitis and toxoplasma retinochoroiditis.

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European society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases guidelines on diagnosis and treatment of brain abscess in children and adults.

Clin Microbiol Infect

January 2024

European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Study Group for Infections of the Brain (ESGIB), Basel, Switzerland; Department of Neurology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Scope: These European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases guidelines are intended for clinicians involved in diagnosis and treatment of brain abscess in children and adults.

Methods: Key questions were developed, and a systematic review was carried out of all studies published since 1 January 1996, using the search terms 'brain abscess' OR 'cerebral abscess' as Mesh terms or text in electronic databases of PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane registry. The search was updated on 29 September 2022.

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A case of cerebral toxoplasmosis: "Eccentric and concentric sign" in MRI.

IDCases

June 2023

Department of Radiology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia.

Central nervous system (CNS) toxoplasmosis is an opportunistic infection caused by the intracellular protozoan parasite . This organism typically causes disease in immunocompromised patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We reported a case of a 52-year-old woman with neurology symptoms and Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain shows both eccentric and concentric target signs, which are typical signs in a patient with cerebral toxoplasmosis but rarely displayed in the same lesion.

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Cerebral toxoplasmosis is an opportunistic infection that, by itself, is difficult to differentiate from cerebral neoplasms by conventional neuroimaging. It rarely occurs concurrently in patients with a primary brain tumor but when it does, it makes diagnosis and management more difficult. This is a case of a 28-year-old female, diagnosed with a right frontal pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma with several recurrences, treated with surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.

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Background: Toxoplasmic encephalitis (TE) is a life-threatening complication of people with human immunodeficiency virus (PWH) with severe immunodeficiency, especially those with a CD4 T-cell count <100 cells/µL. Following a clinical response to anti- therapy, and immune reconstitution after initiation of combination antiretroviral therapy (ART), anti- therapy can be discontinued with a low risk of relapse.

Methods: To better understand the evolution of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-defined TE lesions in PWH receiving ART, we undertook a retrospective study of PWH initially seen at the National Institutes of Health between 2001 and 2012, who had at least 2 serial MRI scans.

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