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Emerg Infect Dis 2019 May;25(5):898-910

During 2003-2011, we recruited 1,065 patients of all ages admitted to Mahosot Hospital (Vientiane, Laos) with suspected central nervous system (CNS) infection. Etiologies were laboratory confirmed for 42.3% of patients, who mostly had infections with emerging pathogens: viruses in 16. Read More

Genome Res 2019 Apr 16. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143, USA.

Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) for pan-pathogen detection has been successfully tested in proof-of-concept case studies in patients with acute illness of unknown etiology but to date has been largely confined to research settings. Here, we developed and validated a clinical mNGS assay for diagnosis of infectious causes of meningitis and encephalitis from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in a licensed microbiology laboratory. A customized bioinformatics pipeline, SURPI+, was developed to rapidly analyze mNGS data, generate an automated summary of detected pathogens, and provide a graphical user interface for evaluating and interpreting results. Read More

PLoS One 2019 10;14(4):e0214077. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

Medical Research Council: Respiratory and Meningeal Pathogens Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Background: Globally, over 400,000 neonatal deaths in 2015 were attributed to sepsis, however, the incidence and etiologies of these infections are largely unknown in low-middle income countries. We aimed to determine incidence and etiology of community-acquired early-onset (<72 hours age) sepsis (EOS) using culture and molecular diagnostics.

Methods: This was a prospective observational study, in which we conducted a surveillance for pathogens using a combination of blood culture and a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based test. Read More

Clin Infect Dis 2019 Apr 9. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Centre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa.

During 2011-2016, we conducted surveillance for severe respiratory illness in infants. HIV exposure statistically significantly increased the risk of RSV-associated hospitalization in infants aged <5 months. Over 60% of RSV-associated hospitalizations occurred in the first 4 months of life and may be preventable through maternal vaccination or birth-dose monoclonal antibody. Read More

Chin Med Sci J 2019 Mar;34(1):55-59

Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Beijing Ditan Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing 100015, China.

Here we reported a Chinese case of bilateral peripheral facial paralysis (PFP) in human immunodeficiency virusc (HIV) infected population. A 38-year-old homosexual male patient was referred to our hospital for bilateral facial paralysis. 21 days prior to admission he had developed high fever, chills, headache, fatigue, general malaise, nausea and vomiting. Read More

Curr Opin Infect Dis 2019 Apr 3. Epub 2019 Apr 3.

Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London.

Purpose Of Review: Central nervous system (CNS) infections present an ongoing diagnostic challenge for clinicians, with an aetiological agent remaining unidentified in the majority of cases even in high-income settings. This review summarizes developments in a range of diagnostic methods published in the past 18 months.

Recent Findings: Several commercial assays exist for the detection of viral, bacterial and fungal pathogens using single multiplex PCR. Read More

BMJ Case Rep 2019 Apr 3;12(4). Epub 2019 Apr 3.

Internal Medicine Services, Ballarat Health Services, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.

An 87-year-old woman with quiescent rheumatoid arthritis, not on immunosuppressive therapy, presented with unilateral arm weakness, confusion and visual hallucinations. There were no infective symptoms or history of malignancy. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis demonstrated lymphocytosis and raised protein, without flow cytometric or cytological abnormalities. Read More

Acta Neurol Scand 2019 Apr 2. Epub 2019 Apr 2.

Departement of Neurology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.

Objectives: Correct identification of inflammatory etiologies of stroke is of outmost importance as they require treatment of the underlying disease. Aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of inflammatory changes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) observed in young cryptogenic stroke patients.

Materials And Methods: Of 6476 records of patients diagnosed with ischemic stroke, 278 had confirmed ischemia in brain imaging and received lumbar puncture. Read More

Exp Ther Med 2019 Apr 22;17(4):3124-3128. Epub 2019 Feb 22.

Department of Neonatology, Linyi Women and Children's Hospital, Linyi, Shandong 276014, P.R. China.

This study aimed to investigate the value of MRI enhanced fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) combined with TNF-α in cerebrospinal fluid in the diagnosis of neonatal purulent meningitis. Fifty neonates with purulent meningitis were randomly selected in the purulency group, 50 patients with viral meningitis (VM) in the virus group and 50 neonates without purulent meningitis in the no meningitis group. All neonates were selected from April 2015 to May 2018 in Women and Children's Hospital (Linyi, China). Read More

J Neuroimmunol 2019 Mar 20;332:16-30. Epub 2019 Mar 20.

Children Health Clinical Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Mater Research, University of Queensland, ST Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland 4078, Australia; School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland, ST Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland 4078, Australia. Electronic address:

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are discovered as crucial pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) involved in the recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Later studies showed their involvement in the recognition of various damage/danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) generated by host itself. Thus, TLRs are capable of recognizing wide-array of patterns/molecules derived from pathogens and host as well and initiating a proinflammatory immune response through the activation of NF-κB and other transcription factors causing synthesis of proinflammatory molecules. Read More

Pediatr Neonatol 2019 Feb 22. Epub 2019 Feb 22.

Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel; Pediatric Division, Soroka University Medical Center, Beer-Sheva, Israel; Pediatric Research Unit, Soroka University Medical Center, Beer-Sheva, Israel. Electronic address:

Background: The evaluation of children with purpuric rash and fever (PRF) is controversial. Although many of them have viral infections, on occasion such patients may be infected with Neisseria meningitidis. We described all children aged 0-18 years with PRF in southern Israel during the period 2005 ̶ 2016 and compared their microbiologic, laboratory, clinical and outcome characteristics in relation to various etiologies of this syndrome. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2019 Mar 27;19(1):287. Epub 2019 Mar 27.

Division of Infectious Diseases, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0711, USA.

Background: Ruxolitinib is a highly potent janus kinase inhibitor that places its users at risk for various bacterial infections and viral reactivation. However new reports are also emerging that suggest greater immunosuppression and risk for fungal disease.

Case Presentation: We report the case of a 51 year-old veteran from Guam, treated with ruxolitinib for polycythemia vera, who developed disseminated histoplasmosis and concurrent cryptococcal meningitis. Read More

BMC Vet Res 2019 Mar 25;15(1):98. Epub 2019 Mar 25.

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA.

Background: Haemophilus parasuis (HPS) is the causative agent of Glässer's disease, characterized by arthritis, fibrinous polyserositis and meningitis, and resulting in worldwide economic losses in the swine industry. Baicalin (BA), a commonly used traditional Chinese medication, has been shown to possess a series of activities, such as anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-tumor, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. However, whether BA has anti-apoptotic effects following HPS infection is unclear. Read More

Nat Immunol 2019 04 18;20(4):407-419. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Viral Immunology and Intravital Imaging Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.

Tissue macrophages have an embryonic origin and can be replenished in some tissues under steady-state conditions by blood monocytes. However, little is known about the residency and properties of infiltrating monocytes after an inflammatory challenge. The meninges of the central nervous system (CNS) are populated by a dense network of macrophages that act as resident immune sentinels. Read More

J Virol 2019 Mar 13. Epub 2019 Mar 13.

Virology Division, Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, The Netherlands

Most viruses have acquired mechanisms to suppress antiviral IFN-α/β and stress responses. Enteroviruses actively counteract the induction of IFN-α/β gene transcription and stress granule (SG) formation, which are increasingly implicated as a platform for antiviral signaling, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Both viral proteases (2A and 3C) have been implicated to suppress these responses, but these conclusions predominantly rely on ectopic overexpression of viral proteases or addition of purified viral proteases to cell lysates. Read More

J Epidemiol Glob Health 2018 Dec;8(3-4):231-235

Directorate General for Disease Surveillance and Control, Ministry of Health, Muscat, Oman.

Objectives: This study aimed to understand the epidemiology of meningitis cases admitted to hospitals in Oman and to identify any changing microbial patterns from the introduction of the new vaccines.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of all cases of meningitis reported through a national surveillance system. Meningitis is a notifiable disease. Read More

Front Microbiol 2019 25;10:321. Epub 2019 Feb 25.

NHC Key Laboratory of Systems Biology of Pathogens, Institute of Pathogen Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.

Enteroviruses (EVs) have emerged a substantial threat to public health. EVs infection range from mild to severe disease, including mild respiratory illness, diarrhea, poliomyelitis, hand, foot, and mouth disease, aseptic meningitis, and encephalitis. In the Asia-Pacific region, for example, one of the best studied enterovirus 71 (EV71) has been associated with pandemics of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) in children, particularly those under the age of five. Read More

Virology 2019 Feb 18;531:79-92. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Institute of Biotechnology and Molecular Biology, CONICET-UNLP, 1900 La Plata, Argentina. Electronic address:

Echovirus 30 (E30) is an important causative agent of aseptic meningitis worldwide. Despite this, the global and regional dispersion patterns, especially in South America, are still largely unknown. We performed an in-depth analysis of global E30 population dynamics, by using the VP1 sequences of 79 strains isolated in Argentina, between 1998 and 2012, and 856 sequences from GenBank. Read More

Kans J Med 2019 Feb 26;12(1):1-3. Epub 2019 Feb 26.

University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, Department of Internal Medicine.

Introduction: Traditional evaluation of meningitis includes cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture and gram stain to pinpoint specific causal organisms. The BioFire FilmArray Meningitis/Encephalitis (ME) Panel has been implemented as a more timely evaluation method. This study sought to assess if the BioFire ME Panel was associated with a decreased length of stay or decreased antimicrobial duration when used in the diagnosis of meningitis or encephalitis. Read More

J Neurovirol 2019 Mar 8. Epub 2019 Mar 8.

Clinical Science Graduate Program, University of Colorado Graduate School, Aurora, CO, USA.

To evaluate the infectious etiologies, clinical features, and outcomes of patients with CNS infections at a tertiary care center. Patients that present with a pleocytosis in the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF), defined as a CSF WBC count > 5 cells/mm, from July 2015 to June 2016 at a tertiary care hospital were analyzed for this report. Data from patients with confirmed (n = 43) and presumed (n = 51) CNS infections were analyzed. Read More

Saudi Med J 2019 Mar;40(3):260-265

School of Pharmacy, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon. E-mail.

Objectives: To assess meningitis treatment in Lebanon's compatibility with the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) guidelines and the effect of non-compliance on mortality. Methods: This is a retrospective study, conducted in 5 Lebanese hospitals, and enrolling all patients diagnosed with meningitis who presented to the involved hospitals from January 2008 to December 2016.  Results: A total of 252 participants were enrolled in the study. Read More

Pol Merkur Lekarski 2019 Feb;46(272):88-93

Medical University of Białystok, Poland: Department of Infectious Diseases and Neuroinfections.

Viral meningitis may be present not only in adults but also in children. It constitutes a significant public health problem in child population. The clinical manifestation of the disease in children varies depending on the age of the child, the causative agent or the way of acquiring the infection. Read More

J Struct Biol 2019 Apr 27;206(1):119-127. Epub 2019 Feb 27.

Department of Pharmacy, University of Patras, GR-26504, Greece. Electronic address:

Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) is a new world alphavirus which can be involved in several central nervous system disorders such as encephalitis and meningitis. The VEEV genome codes for 4 non-structural proteins (nsP), of which nsP3 contains a Macro domain. Macro domains (MD) can be found as stand-alone proteins or embedded within larger proteins in viruses, bacteria and eukaryotes. Read More

J Biol Chem 2019 Mar 1. Epub 2019 Mar 1.

Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, India.

Fusion peptides (FP) in spike proteins are key players mediating early events in cell-to-cell fusion, vital for intercellular viral spread. A proline residue located at the central FP region has often been suggested to have a distinctive role in this fusion event. The spike glycoprotein from strain RSA59 (PP) of mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) contains two central, consecutive prolines in the FP. Read More

Front Microbiol 2019 13;10:259. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States.

West Nile virus (WNV) is an enveloped positive-stranded RNA virus that causes meningitis, encephalitis, and acute flaccid paralysis in humans. There are no therapeutic agents available for use against WNV infection. Alpha-2 macroglobulin (A2M) is a major plasma proteinase inhibitor that also has important role in immune modulation. Read More

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2019 13;10:71. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Health Sciences North Research Institute, Sudbury, ON, Canada.

Obesity negatively affects immune function and host defense mechanisms. Obesity is associated with chronic activation of the innate immune system and consequent local and systemic inflammation which contribute to pathologic conditions such as type-2 diabetes mellitus, cancer, psoriasis, atherosclerosis, and inflammatory bowel disease. Individuals with obesity have increased susceptibility to contract viral, bacterial, and fungal infections and respond sub-optimally to vaccination. Read More

Zhonghua Nei Ke Za Zhi 2019 Mar;58(3):191-197

Department of Infectious Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100730, China (is working on the Department of Infectious Diseases, the Third Hospital of Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao 066000, China).

To investigate the clinical features and T lymphocytes subsets in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. A total of 48 hospitalized patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1/AIDS and CMV infections were recruited at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from Jan 2010 to Aug 2017. Their clinical features and immune function were retrospectively analyzed. Read More

Virol Sin 2019 Feb 21;34(1):50-58. Epub 2019 Feb 21.

Key Laboratory of Major Diseases in Children, Ministry of Education, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Diseases, Beijing Key Laboratory of Pediatric Respiratory Infection Diseases, Virology Laboratory, Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, 100045, China.

Echovirus 18 (E18), a serotype of Enterovirus B (EV-B) species, is an important pathogen in aseptic meningitis. E18 had rarely been detected in mainland China, but became the predominant pathogen associated with viral encephalitis (VE) and meningitis in Hebei province for the first time in 2015. To investigate the molecular epidemiology and genetic characteristics of E18 in mainland China, sixteen E18 strains from patient throat swabs with hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) in six provinces in China collected between 2015 and 2016, and four E18 strains isolated from 18 patient cerebrospinal fluid specimens with VE in Hebei Province in 2015 were obtained and sequenced. Read More

J Neuroinflammation 2019 Feb 18;16(1):42. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Background: Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is a common viral agent causing central nervous system (CNS) infections including encephalitis, meningitis, and Ramsay Hunt syndrome. Neurological complications occur frequently despite antiviral treatment. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and cytokines are involved in the neuroinflammatory response during CNS infection. Read More

Nat Commun 2019 02 15;10(1):794. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, Hamilton, MT, 59840, USA.

Prolonged exposure of CD8 T cells to antigenic stimulation, as in chronic viral infections, leads to a state of diminished function termed exhaustion. We now demonstrate that even during exhaustion there is a subset of functional CD8 T cells defined by surface expression of SIRPα, a protein not previously reported on lymphocytes. On SIRPα CD8 T cells, expression of co-inhibitory receptors is counterbalanced by expression of co-stimulatory receptors and it is only SIRPα cells that actively proliferate, transcribe IFNγ and show cytolytic activity. Read More

Eur Neurol 2018 14;80(5-6):283-288. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, China.

Background: There are sparse and limited studies on small sample size reporting the application of next-generation sequencing (NGS) in the detection of central nervous system (CNS) viral infections. We assessed the diagnostic performance of NGS of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for predicting viral infections of the CNS caused by the neurotropic herpes viruses in a pilot population.

Materials And Methods: We prospectively collected CSF samples from 24 patients with CNS viral infection from April 2017 to October 2018. Read More

Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi 2019 Feb;53(2):164-168

Department of National Immunization Programme, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100050, China.

To explore acute meningitis and encephalitis syndrome (AMES) surveillance in 4 China prefectures, to understand the epidemiological features and disease burden of () meningitis, () meningitis, haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) meningitis and Japanese encephalitis and provide evidence for related disease prevention and control. AMES surveillance were conducted in Jinan, Shandong Province and Yichang, Hubei Province in September 2006, and in 13 districts of Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province and Guigang City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in April 2007. Six hospitals in each city were selected as monitoring pilot hospitals to carry out reports of suspected cases of acute meningitis and encephalitis, case investigation, blood specimens and cerebrospinal fluid specimen collection, anti-JEV IgM antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, , and Hib culture and polymerase chain reaction detection, etc. Read More

BMC Pediatr 2019 Feb 7;19(1):49. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Centre for Experimental Medicine, Queen's University Belfast, Wellcome Wolfson Institute of Experimental Medicine, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7AE, UK.

Background: The early recognition of meningococcal disease in children is vital. During the prodrome however, meningococcal infection presents similarly to many self-limiting viral infections. This mandates a cautious approach with many children receiving unnecessary broad-spectrum parenteral antibiotics. Read More

J Neurol Sci 2019 Mar 31;398:176-183. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Division of Hospital Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pinnacle, United States.

Viral meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges associated with acute onset of meningeal symptoms and fever, pleocytosis of the cerebrospinal fluid, and no growth on routine bacterial culture. It is sometimes associated with viral encephalitis and meningoencephalitis. Viruses reach the central nervous system (CNS) hematogenously or in a retrograde manner from nerve endings. Read More

Emerg Med J 2019 Mar 6;36(3):148-153. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Background: Serious bacterial infections in young infants with bronchiolitis are rare. Febrile infants <1 month old with bronchiolitis often receive a lumbar puncture (LP), despite limited data for this practice and lack of clinical practice guidelines for this population. The primary objective was to investigate practice patterns in performance of LPs in the ED management of febrile infants aged ≤30 days with bronchiolitis. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2019 02 6;15(2):e1007583. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Department of Microbiology-Immunology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States of America.

CD8 T cells are necessary for the elimination of intracellular pathogens, but during chronic viral infections, CD8 T cells become exhausted and unable to control the persistent infection. Programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) blockade therapies have been shown to improve CD8 T cell responses during chronic viral infections. These therapies have been licensed to treat cancers in humans, but they have not yet been licensed to treat chronic viral infections because limited benefit is seen in pre-clinical animal models of chronic infection. Read More

Hum Vaccin Immunother 2019 Feb 6:1-6. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

b Japan Vaccine Co., Ltd , Tokyo , Japan.

Domestic measles, mumps, and rubella combined (MMR) vaccines were discontinued in 1993 in Japan because of the unexpected high incidence of aseptic meningitis. The introduction of an effective MMR vaccine with lower reactogenicity has been expected. A new MMR vaccine (JVC-001) was developed, using mumps RIT4385 strain in combination with Japanese measles AIK-C strain and rubella Takahashi strain (MR) vaccine. Read More

J Infect Dis 2019 Feb 5. Epub 2019 Feb 5.

Centre for Individualized Infection Medicine, Hannover, Germany.

Background: The tryptophan-kynurenine-NAD+ pathway is closely associated with regulation of immune cells toward less inflammatory phenotypes and may exert neuroprotective effects. Investigating its regulation in CNS infections would improve our understanding of pathophysiology and end-organ damage, and, furthermore, open doors to its evaluation as a source of diagnostic and/or prognostic biomarkers.

Methods: We measured concentrations of kynurenine (Kyn) and tryptophan (Trp) in 220 cerebrospinal fluid samples from patients with bacterial and viral (herpes simplex, varicella zoster, enteroviruses) meningitis/encephalitis, neuroborreliosis, autoimmune neuroinflammation (anti-NMDA-R encephalitis, multiple sclerosis), and noninflamed controls (Bell's palsy, normal pressure hydrocephalus, Tourette syndrome). Read More

J Neurol Sci 2019 Mar 25;398:121-127. Epub 2019 Jan 25.

Department of Neurology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH 44195, United States. Electronic address:

Introduction: Limited information is available describing the spectrum of neurological complications of cryoglobulinemia.

Methods: Single center retrospective review of patients with neurologic symptoms and elevated serum cryoglobulins, with their potential association being classified as definite, possible, or unlikely using defined criteria.

Results: Among 492 patients, 131 (87 classified as definite and 44 as possible) had neurologic symptoms associated with cryoglobulinemia. Read More

Ther Apher Dial 2019 Jan 23. Epub 2019 Jan 23.

Department of Nephrology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.

This study investigates some clinical characteristics of maintenance hemodialysis patients with new-onset epilepsy. Thirty-five patients with new-onset epilepsy who underwent maintenance hemodialysis were selected for study. Sixty patients undergoing routine hemodialysis were selected as the control group. Read More

Neurohospitalist 2019 Jan 24;9(1):49-50. Epub 2018 Jan 24.

Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA.

JMIR Public Health Surveill 2019 Jan 15;5(1):e11357. Epub 2019 Jan 15.

Center for Research and Education in Advanced Transportation Engineering Systems, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, United States.

Background: The literature in statistics presents methods by which autocorrelation can identify the best period of measurement to improve the performance of a time-series prediction. The period of measurement plays an important role in improving the performance of disease-count predictions. However, from the operational perspective in public health surveillance, there is a limitation to the length of the measurement period that can offer meaningful and valuable predictions. Read More

J Neuroinflammation 2019 Jan 19;16(1):13. Epub 2019 Jan 19.

Department of Neurology, Christian-Doppler-Klinik, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.

Background: The chemokine CXCL13 is an intensively investigated biomarker in Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB). Its role in other neuroinfections is increasingly recognized but less clear.

Objective: To determine the significance of CXCL13 in established central nervous system (CNS) infections other than LNB by matching cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) CXCL13 elevations with severity of the disease course. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2019 Jan 15;20(2). Epub 2019 Jan 15.

Clinical Neuroimmunology and Neurochemistry, Department of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany.

Enteroviruses are among the most common causes of viral meningitis. Enteroviral meningitis continues to represent diagnostic challenges, as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cell numbers (a well validated diagnostic screening tool) may be normal in up to 15% of patients. We aimed to identify potential CSF biomarkers for enteroviral meningitis, particularly for cases with normal CSF cell count. Read More

Cureus 2018 Oct 25;10(10):e3496. Epub 2018 Oct 25.

Neurology, Harbor University of California Los Angeles Medical Center, Los Angeles, USA.

Intracranial epidermoid cysts are exceedingly rare lesions that result from a disorder of gastrulation. They are seen only in the pediatric patient population. We describe a 44-year-old Hispanic woman who presented with acute confusion. Read More

MBio 2019 01 15;10(1). Epub 2019 Jan 15.

Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, Department of Molecular and Biomedical Science, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia

is commonly carried asymptomatically in the human nasopharynx, but it also causes serious and invasive diseases such as pneumonia, bacteremia, and meningitis, as well as less serious but highly prevalent infections such as otitis media. We have previously shown that closely related pneumococci (of the same capsular serotype and multilocus sequence type [ST]) can display distinct pathogenic profiles in mice that correlate with clinical isolation site (e.g. Read More

Nat Commun 2019 01 14;10(1):196. Epub 2019 Jan 14.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30307, USA.

In response to viral infection, CD8 T cells undergo expansion and differentiate into distinct classes of effector cells. After clearance of the virus, a small population of long-lived memory cells persists. Comprehensive studies have defined the protein-coding transcriptional changes associated with this process. Read More

Clin Microbiol Infect 2019 Apr 11;25(4):422-430. Epub 2019 Jan 11.

Laboratory of Virology, Division of Laboratory Medicine and Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Geneva Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland; University of Geneva Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland.

Background: Viral aetiologies are the most common cause of central nervous system (CNS) infections. Approximately one-half of CNS infections remain of undetermined origin. High-throughput sequencing (HTS) brought new perspectives to CNS infection investigations, allowing investigation of viral aetiologies with an unbiased approach. Read More

Eur J Pediatr 2019 Apr 14;178(4):473-481. Epub 2019 Jan 14.

Department of Pediatrics, Elisabeth-Tweesteden Hospital, Hilvarenbeekseweg 60, 5022 LC, Tilburg, the Netherlands.

This multicenter prospective cohort study describes the impact of human parechovirus meningitis on gross-motor neurodevelopment of young children. Gross-motor function was measured using Alberta Infant Motor Scale. Of a total of 38 eligible children < 10 months of age at onset, nine cases had clinical evidence of meningitis and polymerase chain reaction positive for human parechovirus in cerebrospinal fluid; 11 had no meningitis and polymerase chain reaction positive for human parechovirus in nasopharyngeal aspirate, blood, urine, or feces; and in 18, no pathogen was identified (reference group). Read More

BMC Public Health 2019 Jan 9;19(1):46. Epub 2019 Jan 9.

Global Public Health Solutions Inc, Atlanta, GA, USA.

Background: Uganda is a low income country that continues to experience disease outbreaks caused by emerging and re-emerging diseases such as cholera, meningococcal meningitis, typhoid and viral haemorrhagic fevers. The Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) strategy was adopted by WHO-AFRO in 1998 as a comprehensive strategy to improve disease surveillance and response in WHO Member States in Africa and was adopted in Uganda in 2000. To address persistent inconsistencies and inadequacies in the core and support functions of IDSR, Uganda initiated an IDSR revitalisation programme in 2012. Read More