ABSTRACT
Epilepsy is a chronic disorder with medical, as well as psychosocial, consequences. Many patients with epilepsy are well controlled by medication and are able to tolerate the side effects of the antiepileptic drugs needed to control their disorder. However, there are many people who are either unable to gain seizure freedom with medications or are intolerant of the side effects of their drugs. In some of these patients, particularly those with mesial temporal sclerosis, surgery offers a viable treatment alternative and a chance for a cure rather than just lifelong management.
Subject(s)
Epilepsy/surgery , Anticonvulsants/therapeutic use , Epilepsy/diagnosis , Epilepsy/drug therapy , HumansABSTRACT
Balamuthia mandrillaris, formerly referred to as a leptomyxid ameba, is a free-living ameba that has recently been identified as a cause of meningoencephalitis. Previously, only two genera, Naegleria and Acanthamoeba, were recognized as causes of central nervous system (CNS) infections in humans. In contrast to Naegleria, Balamuthia causes a subacute-to-chronic infection of the CNS. Distinct from Acanthamoeba, which appears to favor the immunocompromised host, Balamuthia is capable of infecting both healthy and immunosuppressed hosts. Retrospective analyses as well as an accumulation of newly identified cases have demonstrated that this ameba is an increasingly important pathogen to recognize. We report the isolation, histopathologic features, and confirmation by indirect immunofluorescence of B. mandrillaris in a case of fatal amebic meningoencephalitis.
