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Blastomycosis and Phaeohyphomycosis

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Fungal Infections of the Central Nervous System

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Abstract

The incidence of the mycoses affecting the central nervous system has increased in recent years. These mycoses occur in both immunocompetent and immunosuppressed individuals and are caused by primary fungi (yeasts and filamentous fungi). Among these fungi, Blastomyces spp. and phaeoid fungi stand out, which are characterized by reaching the CNS through hematogenous dissemination or neurotropism. The mortality of patients with CNS infection caused by these fungi is high, because it is difficult to make a specific diagnosis opportunely. The initial treatment of these mycoses is amphotericin B, although many patients may require lifetime treatment with some azole antifungal to avoid relapses. Therefore, these infections require an opportune and precise diagnosis, as well as careful treatment strategies to ensure the proper management of patients. This chapter presents a review of the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment of CNS infections caused by Blastomyces spp. and phaeoid fungi.

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Abbreviations

AIDS:

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome

CNS:

Central nervous system

CSF:

Cerebrospinal fluid

GMS:

Gomori methenamine silver

HE:

Hematoxylin-eosin

HIV:

Human immunodeficiency virus

PAS:

Periodic acid-Schiff

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

PMN:

Polymorphonuclear

USA:

United States of America

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Unit, Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad de Ixtapaluca, Ixtapaluca, Estado de México, Mexico

    María Guadalupe Frías-De-León, Erick Martínez-Herrera & Gustavo Acosta-Altamirano

  2. Microbiology and Parasitology Department, School of Medicine, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico

    María del Rocío Reyes-Montes

Authors
  1. María Guadalupe Frías-De-León
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  2. Erick Martínez-Herrera
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  3. María del Rocío Reyes-Montes
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  4. Gustavo Acosta-Altamirano
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Aydın Adnan Menderes University, School of Medicine, Aydın, Turkey

    Mehmet Turgut

  2. Department of Pathology, Basavatarakam Indo-American Hospital & Research Institute, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

    Sundaram Challa

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, Avicenne Military Hospital, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Marrakech, Morocco

    Ali Akhaddar

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Frías-De-León, M.G., Martínez-Herrera, E., Reyes-Montes, M.d.R., Acosta-Altamirano, G. (2019). Blastomycosis and Phaeohyphomycosis. In: Turgut, M., Challa, S., Akhaddar, A. (eds) Fungal Infections of the Central Nervous System. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-06088-6_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-06088-6_13

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