title: Disseminated Balamuthia mandrillaris amoeba infection in an AIDS patient from Brazil.
abstract: This report describes a 32-year-old male AIDS patient. He presented with a clinical picture characterized by severe headache, blurred vision, and fever that had lasted for 10 days. At admission, no remarkable neurologic abnormalities were observed. Cranial tomography showed a ring-enhanced lesion with edema and a mass effect in the right occipital lobe. The initial diagnosis was toxoplasmosis, and treatment of this was administered. However, 5 days later, the patient's clinical status worsened and he died. The necropsy showed necrotizing and hemorrhagic encephalitis, with trophozoites similar to an amoeba species. Furthermore, the kidneys, adrenal glands, thyroid gland, and liver were also involved. The amoeba Balamuthia mandrillaris was identified by an immunofluorescence test.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Federal University of the Triângulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Brazil. marioleon.dip@mednet.com.br
authors.forename: Mario León
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Silva-Vergara
authors.forename: Eduardo Rodrigues
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Da Cunha Colombo
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Figueiredo Vissotto
authors.forename: Ana Cristina Araújo Lemos
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Javier Emilio Lazo
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Chica
authors.forename: Renata Margarida
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Etchebehere
authors.forename: Sheila Jorge
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Adad
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000469:parasitology; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology; D001938:Brazil; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000469:parasitology*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D016840:Lobosea / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008297:Male; D011528:Protozoan Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000469:parasitology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016781:Toxoplasmosis, Cerebral / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan