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Granulomatous Amebic Encephalitis presenting as a cerebral mass lesion

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Summary

Clinical and brain biopsy or autopsy findings in six patients with Granulomatous Amebic Encephalitis (GAE) due toAcanthamoeba sp. were characterized by focal neurological symptoms, increased intracranial pressure, and focal neuroradiological findings. Craniotomies were performed because of the diagnostic possibility of a mass lesion such as a brain tumor or abscess. In four patients, frozen sections demonstrated free-living amebas. GAE may present as an acute or subacute intracerebral mass lesion with signs and symptoms of focal brain disease and should be differentiated from viral, bacterial, fungal, and other protozoal encephalitides.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Neuropathology, Presbyterian-University Hospital, De Soto at O'Hara Streets, 15213, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    A. Julio Martínez

  2. Louisiana State University Medical Center, 70112, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Carlos A. García

  3. San Francisco, School of Medicine, University of California, 94143, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Meredith Halks-Miller

  4. Universidad Nacional Federico Villareal (UNFV) y Hospital Central No. 1 SSP, Lima, Perú

    Rafael Arce-Vela

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  1. A. Julio Martínez
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  2. Carlos A. García
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  3. Meredith Halks-Miller
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  4. Rafael Arce-Vela
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Martínez, A.J., García, C.A., Halks-Miller, M. et al. Granulomatous Amebic Encephalitis presenting as a cerebral mass lesion. Acta Neuropathol 51, 85–91 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00690448

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00690448

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