Neuro-Immune Mechanisms of Anti-Cryptococcal Protection

Neuro-Immune Mechanisms of Anti-Cryptococcal Protection

Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) is a life-threatening fungal disease affecting both immunosuppressed and immunocompetent people. The main causative agent of CM is Cryptococcus neoformans, a basidiomycete fungus prevalent in the environment. Our understanding of the immune mechanisms controlling C. neoformans growth within the central nervous system (CNS) is poor. However, there have been several r...

Cells, Molecules and Mechanisms Involved in the Neuro-Immune Interaction

Molecular mechanisms of cryptococcal meningitis

Fungal meningitis is a serious disease caused by a fungal infection of the central nervous system (CNS) mostly in individuals with immune system deficiencies. Fungal meningitis is often fatal without proper treatment, and the mortality rate remains unacceptably high even with antifungal drug interventions. Currently, cryptococcal meningitis is the most common fungal meningitis in HIV-1/AIDS, an...

Neuro-psychological sequelae in HIV-negative cryptococcal meningitis after complete anti-fungal treatment.

PURPOSES The cognitive sequelae and influence of depression in patients with cryptococcal meningitis (CM) after complete anti-fungal treatment has not been completely surveyed in literature. METHODS Seventeen HIV-negative CM patients and 26 health y controls were enrolled in this prospective study. Neuro-psychological evaluation was performed to assess the attention, execution, speech and lan...

Immune correlates of HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis

1 Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, United States of America, 2 Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington School of Public Health, Seattle, Washington, United States of America, 3 Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 4 Institute for Infection and Immunity, St George’s, University...