Brain-Eating Amoebae: Predilection Sites in the Brain and Disease Outcome

Ong, Timothy Yu Yee; Khan, Naveed Ahmed; Siddiqui, Ruqaiyyah

doi:10.1128/jcm.02300-16

Cited by 87 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Additionally, hemorrhagic and necrotic lesions can be observed as occupied lesions by computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of brain tissue; however, discrimination from lesions due to other causes is difficult. 1,22 Although definitive diagnosis requires detection of trophozoites and cysts associated with B. mandrillaris or Acanthamoeba spp. from brain biopsy tissue, it is difficult to distinguish amoebas morphologically in tissue samples.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathogenic free‐living amoebic encephalitis in Japan

2019

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Over 600 cases of amoebic encephalitis caused by pathogenic free-living amoebas (Balamuthia mandrillaris, Acanthamoeba spp., and Naegleria fowleri) have been reported worldwide, and in Japan, 24 cases have been reported from the first case in 1976 up to 2018. Among these cases, 18 were caused by B. mandrillaris, four by Acanthamoeba spp., one by N. fowleri, and one was of unknown etiology. Additionally, eight cases were diagnosed with encephalitis due to pathogenic free-living amoebas before death, but only three cases were successfully treated. Unfortunately, all other cases were diagnosed by autopsy. These facts indicate that an adequate diagnosis is difficult, because encephalitis due to pathogenic free-living amoebas does not show typical symptoms or laboratory findings. Moreover, because the number of cases is limited, other cases might have been missed outside of those diagnosed by autopsy. Cases of encephalitis caused by B. mandrillaris have been reported from all over Japan, with B. mandrillaris recently isolated from soil in Aomori prefecture. Therefore, encephalitis caused by pathogenic free-living amoebas should be added to the differential diagnosis of encephalitis patients.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathogenic free‐living amoebic encephalitis in Japan

2019

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“…The disease is more commonly encountered in immunocompromised patients such as ours, who had been prescribed steroids for more than 7 years. Most of the cases reported in the literature had poor prognoses, and a majority could only be diagnosed through postmortem samples (6). Although we were able to achieve confirmatory ante-mortem diagnosis using molecular methods, it was too late in the course of the disease to successfully treat it.…”

Section: Laboratory and Epidemiology Communicationsmentioning

confidence: 80%

Fatal Amoebic Meningoencephalitis Caused by <i>Balamuthia mandrillaris</i> in a Sarcoidosis Patient

et al. 2018

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“…PAM is a fatal infection caused by Naegleria fowleri whose amoeboflagellate can reach the central nervous system (CNS) through the olfactory neuroepithelial pathway [22]. Seven to fourteen days after the appearance of symptoms 95% of the cases reported to date lead to death [18,[24][25][26].…”

Section: Of 14mentioning

confidence: 99%

Isolation of <em>Naegleria spp.</em> from a Brazilian Water Source

Bellini¹,

Fonseca²,

Reyes-Batllé³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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The genus Naegleria, of free-living amoeba (FLA) group, has been investigated mainly due to its human health impact resulting in deadly infections and their worldwide distribution on freshwater systems. Naegleria fowleri, colloquially known as the “brain-eating amoeba”, is the most studied Naegleria species because it causes Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM) of high lethality. The assessment of FLA biodiversity is fundamental to evaluate the presence of pathogenic species and the possibility of human contamination. However, the knowledge of FLA distribution in Brazil is unknown, and to rectify this situation we present a research on identifying Naegleria spp. in the Monjolinho River, as a model study. The river is a public Brazilian freshwater source that crosses the city of São Carlos. Five distinct sampling sites were examined through limnological features, trophozoites culturing and PCR against internal transcribed spacers (ITS) regions and 5.8S rRNA sequence. The results identified N. philippinensis, N. canariensisi, N. australiensis, N.gruberi, N. dobsoni sequences, as well as a Vahlkampfia sequence. The methodology delineated here represents the first Brazilian Naegleria spp. study on a freshwater system. Our result stresses the urgency of a large scale evaluation of the presence of free-living amoebas in Brazil.

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Brain-Eating Amoebae: Predilection Sites in the Brain and Disease Outcome

Cited by 87 publications

References 27 publications

Pathogenic free‐living amoebic encephalitis in Japan

Pathogenic free‐living amoebic encephalitis in Japan

Fatal Amoebic Meningoencephalitis Caused by <i>Balamuthia mandrillaris</i> in a Sarcoidosis Patient

Isolation of <em>Naegleria spp.</em> from a Brazilian Water Source

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