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Infectious Diseases of the Nervous System
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Nervous System CNS: brain and spinal cord PNS: peripheral nerves
Cells are called neurons No normal flora
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Natural Defenses of the Nervous System
Skull and vertebrae Microglial cells and macrophages Restricted entry into brain (blood-brain barrier) for: microorganisms medications, including antibiotics immune system
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Nervous System Diseases
Meningitis: inflammation of the meninges = membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord Encephalitis: inflammation of the brain
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Bacterial infection
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Meningitis Haemophilus influenzae type b Infants, newborn
(also, E. coli, Streptococcus agalactiae) Streptococcus pneumoniae Children 1 month - 4 years Elderly Neisseria meningitidis College students Listeria monocytogenes
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Streptococcal Meningitis
Streptococcus pneumoniae Gram + diplococci Virulent strains are encapsulated Children age 1 month – 4 years Elderly Subunit vaccine: induces opsonizing antibody to capsule
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Meningococcal Meningitis in College Students Neisseria meningitidis
Enters through nasal cavity (droplets) Incidence = 2,500 Americans/year 10-15% die, up to 20% long-term disabilities Subunit vaccine: induces opsonizing antibody to capsule
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Neisseria meningitidis
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Naegleria Meningoencephalitis A rare infection
Naegleria fowleri Small free-living amoebas Found in soil, fresh water, and sewage Can be normal flora Protozoan feeds on bacteria but if introduced into the CNS can feed on human tissue
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Naegleria meningoencephalitis
Acquired from hot tubs, warm ponds and ground water at high temperature Children and young adults Initially infects the nasal mucosa Abrupt onset of symptoms 3 to 10 days after exposure to water Severe headache, fever, stiff neck and coma
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Naegleria meningoencephalitis
Destroys brain and spinal tissue Death occurs within 10 days of the onset of clinical signs No treatment Chlorine kills the organism in spas and pools
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Protozoans infection
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Toxoplasmosis Toxoplasma gondii Flagellated protozoan parasite
Infects over 200 species of birds and animals Primary reservoir is cats Infection usually handled by immune system
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Toxoplasmosis Acquired from contaminated meat or ingestion of oocysts in cat feces
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Toxoplasmosis Causes serious disease in developing fetus
Liver damage Brain abnormalities Blindness Serious disease in people with AIDS Prevention: no raw meat, no contact with cat litter box
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Viral infection
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Viral Infections of the CNS Acute Viral Encephalitis
Arboviruses West Nile Virus Encephalitis Western or Eastern Equine Encephalitis California Encephalitis La Crosse Encephalitis Herpes simplex 1 or 2 Rabies
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Arboviral encephalitis….
… Results after the bite of a blood sucking insect, commonly mosquitoes The virus is inoculated directly into the blood stream and grows in monocytes and/or lymphocytes Virus is released into the blood and can enter the brain ….. infecting neurons.
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Arboviral encephalitis is prevalent worldwide
… But each virus has its own locality, due to its host insect vector species (e.g. Culex species, WNV) … Most disease in the USA is mild with symptoms of fever and malaise, and only occasionally leads to infection of the brain … Most disease localities are known and controlled by via virus monitoring, disease monitoring and mosquito control
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Rabies Viral infection from bite of a “furious” rabid animal:
Animal rabies: Wandering, aggression, biting, salivating Virus travels from the bite to the brain, via nerves Thus, variable latent period A fatal zoonotic disease Human “dumb” rabies: fever, confusion, anxiety, encephalitis, death
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Rabies Bite Virus grows in muscle Virus enters sensory nerve ending Virus travels to cord, brain Virus grows in brain, changes behavior Virus travels to salivary gland and is secreted
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Diagnosis of Rabies: Negri Bodies
Performed via a Post-mortem autopsy on animals Observing neuronal brain cells with intracytoplasmic inclusions (Negri bodies) Identification of Rabies Strain (Bat, Skunk, etc….) Negri Bodies Rabid brain stained with Fluorescent anti-rabies antibody Rabid brain stained with Hematoxylin and eosin
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Prevention of Rabies Pet Animal vaccines Wildlife edible bait vaccines
Euthanize (kill) all rabid animals Quarantine biting, aggressive unvaccinated pets or pet animals bitten by wildlife
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West nile fever
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Caused by arbovirus In the blood of imported birds Main vector are about 46 types of mosquitoes Starts from fever to neuroinvasive disease
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Other bacterial nerve disease
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Hansen’s disease Also known as leprosy
Might also happen in skin and other area To test, using the lepromin skin test which was similar to tubeculin test Infecting immigrants
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Causes and symptoms Cause by Mycobacterium leprae
Diagnosis similar to M. tuberculosis Can also be identified using PCR and skin test Progression from tuberculoid – lepromatous - lepromas
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Progression of leprosy
Tuberculoid Lepromas
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Gram stain
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Treatment Antibiotic such as rifampin, clofazimine and dapsone
Can reduce the nodules of lepromatous but not the lost tissue Vaccine are NOT available, the discovery might take years to succeed
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tetanus
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Causes Tetanus is often associated with rust, especially rusty nails,
The rough surface of rusty metal merely provides a prime habitat for a C. tetani endospore to reside, An endospore is a non-metabolizing survival structure that begins to metabolize and cause infection once in an adequate environment. Because C. tetani is an anaerobic bacterium, it and its endospores survive well in an environment that lacks oxygen.
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Symptoms 4 – 10 days incubation Muscle spasm Lockjaw
Respiratory muscle paralyzed Heart function disturb
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Types of tetanus Neonatal tetanus Local tetanus Cephalic tetanus
Generalized tetanus
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Treatment and prevention
Tetanus toxoid vaccine Antibiotic for injured pt Antitoxin to reduce toxin inactivation Tetanus neonatorum (from contaminated knife)
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botulism
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Botulism
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Paralytic Poliomyelitis
Neurotropic viral infection acquired by ingestion Paralytic spinal cord infection Effective vaccine (PV-1,2,3) Unvaccinated children are at risk in parts of the world like India, Africa
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The unique stages of infection and pathogenesis of poliomyelitis.
Poliovirus, an “Enterovirus” has an icosahedral capsid shell that protects it from digestion. GI Tract Blood Cord CNS Paralysis of motor neurons
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Virus travels through blood and the nerves
… And each place in the cord that nerve cells are destroyed causes paralysis to that part of the body controlled by those motor neurons.
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Summer epidemics in the early 1900s
in the USA caused panic Polio in the USA in spurred the first human vaccines: - Salk Killed Vaccine - Sabin Modified Live Vaccine
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