Axonal injury, a neglected cause of CNS damage in bacterial meningitis.

The contribution of axonal injury to CNS damage in bacterial meningitis was studied by histology and immunohistochemistry for amyloid-beta precursor protein in humans and experimental rabbits. Axonal injury in the white matter caused predominantly but not exclusively by ischemia was detected in all autopsy cases (n = 5) and in 11 of 15 brains of rabbits 18 to 24 hours after intracisternal infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae. This suggests a substantial contribution of axonal pathology to neurologic sequelae after bacterial meningitis.