Parasitic infections of the CNS

• Malaria

  • Vasculature prominent from congestion with malaria m/o

  • Looks like petechiae all over brain (from pigment in m/o from RBC ingestion)

• Trypanosomiasis

• Amoeba

  • Most infections are from Naeglaria species via direct infection (swim in amoeba-infested water, they enter the nose, and go to the frontal lobes through the cribiform plate); m/o look like foamy macrophages

  • Entamoeba histolytica can infect the brain by hematogenous spread from an infection elsewhere in the body (won’t be just in the frontal lobes)

• Cysticercosis

  • From eating eggs of pork tapeworm

  • Infection can be in any organ (look for numerous small radiopaque lesions)

  • Have a cystic appearance because the m/o is rather cystic

• Echinococcosis – mostly causes liver problems

Category: Pathology Notes