title: Cardiac toxoplasmosis in pathology of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
abstract: Four cases of myocarditis from toxoplasma gondii were observed at autopsy among 18 consecutive cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). All cases showed spotty inflammatory myocardial infiltration, consisting mainly of T lymphocytes and, to a lesser extent, of B lymphocytes, histiocytes, mastocytes and eosinophilic granulocytes, with presence of toxoplasma gondii in the cytoplasm of a few myocardial cells. The incidence of toxoplasmic myocarditis in heart involvement in AIDS was 22% in our cases, manifold higher than in preceding reports from the literature. This suggests that cardiac toxoplasmosis is far from rare in patients with AIDS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Matturri
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Quattrone
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Varesi
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rossi
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D001344:Autopsy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009205:Myocarditis / Q000469:parasitology*; D014123:Toxoplasmosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*