Abstract
Although amebic brain abscess is a rare form of invasive amebiasis, when present, it is frequently lethal. This disorder always begins with the infection of the colon by Entamoeba histolytica trophozoites, which then travel to extra-intestinal tissues through the bloodstream. Amebic brain abscesses are produced when trophozoites invade the central nervous system. Computerized axial tomography scans can be used to diagnose the presence or absence of a brain abscess with a certainty of 100%. However, this diagnostic tool does not reveal the etiological agent of disease. By analyzing the clinical case of a patient that died due to untimely treatment of this malady, the present study aims to identify a diagnostic tool that can give a precise determination of the etiological agent and therefore permit adequate and opportune treatment. Currently, diagnosis of amebic brain abscess is often done by identification of the ameba in a biopsy or autopsy. By immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence with specific antibodies, we identified the existence of E. histolytica, which presents proteins similar to Naegleria fowleri in its membrane.
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Acknowledgments
We thank the biologist Fabiola del Rocío Villalobos Gómez for her technical assistance and Bruce Allan Larsen for reviewing the use of English in this manuscript. We are grateful for the support provided by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) (project no. 49749), by the Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes (Project PIBB07-2), and by the Comité de Operaciones y Fomento a las Actividades Académicas (COFAA) and EDI-IPN in Mexico City. María del Rosario Campos-Esparza was supported with a fellowship from the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT-Mexico) for a post-doctoral training in the program “Estancias Posdoctorales y Sabáticas Vinculadas al Fortalecimiento de la Calidad del Posgrado Nacional 2009–2010,” Mexico.
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Maldonado-Barrera, C.A., Campos-Esparza, M.R., Muñoz-Fernández, L. et al. Clinical case of cerebral amebiasis caused by E. histolytica . Parasitol Res 110, 1291–1296 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2617-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2617-8