Meningoencefalitis amebiana primaria: comunicacion de dos nuevos casos Venezolanos / Primary amebic meningoencephalitis: two new cases report from Venezuela

La meningoencefalitis amebiana primaria (MAP) es infrecuente. Describimos dos nuevos casos de MAP en pacientes Venezolanos. Caso 1, Varón de 10 años, con fiebre, cefalea, vómitos y debilidad generalizada, y antecedente de inmersión en un estanque de agua días antes del inicio de sus síntomas, falleciendo 72 horas después del ingreso. Caso 2, Varón de 23 años con historia de cefalea, fiebre, vómitos, somnolencia y cambios de conducta. El paciente falleció 40 horas después. El estudio neuropatológico en ambos casos reveló MAP por Naegleria fowleri. La encefalitis por amebas anfizoicas debe sospecharse en casos de meningoencefalitis asépticas.

Primary amebic menigoencephalitis (PAM) is rare. Two cases of PAM in Venezuelan patients are described. Case 1, a 10 year-old male with headache, fever, vomiting. The patient swam in a water reservoir before the onset of his disease. He died during his third hospital day. Case 2, a 23 year-old male with a history of headache, fever, vomiting, drowsiness, and behavioral disturbances. The patient died on his second hospital day. The diagnosis in both cases was PAM due to Naegleria fowleri. Central nervous system infection by free-living amebas should be considered in meningoencephalitides with bacterial-free cerebro-spinal fluid.

Comparison of the efficacy of carbamazepine, haloperidol and valproic acid in the treatment of children with Sydenham' s chorea: clinical follow-up of 18 patients

In order to compare and contrast the efficacy of haloperidol, carbamazepine, and valproic acid in the treatment of Sydenham s chorea a prospective study including 18 cases of this disorder was undertaken. Age of patients ranged from 7 to 15 years. Ten children were female and 8 were male. All but one had generalized, either symmetric or asymmetric chorea. The patients were divided in three equal groups, and were given a standardized dose of each of the drugs built-up over a week. Following therapy, the six children receiving valproic acid showed remarkable improvement, without side effects. Five patients receiving carbamazepine showed improvement without side effects. Only three of the patients that received haloperidol improved. In the 4 cases that did not show clinical improvement after one week of treatment, therapy with valproic acid led to disappearance of the symptoms in a lapse that ranged from 4 to 7 days. Recurrence related to discontinuation of treatment was observed in two patients. In view of the present results we recommend valproic acid as the first choice drug to treat Sydenham chorea