Ashfaq Ahmad, White A Clinton
Infectious Disease Division, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
Handb Clin Neurol. 2013;114:183-91. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-444-53490-3.00012-1.
Microsporidia are obligate intracellular spore-forming organisms. Several species of microsporidia cause human disease, mainly in immunocompromised hosts. The spectrum of disease varies from diarrhea, keratoconjunctivitis to disseminated infection involving multiple organs. CNS disease is a rare manifestation usually seen in compromised hosts as part of a disseminated infection. Only 12 cases of CNS microsporidiosis have been reported in the literature. Clinically, they usually present with signs and symptoms of encephalitis and seizures. Diagnosis often requires brain biopsy, but spores can occasionally be found in other sites. Albendazole and fumagillin have been successfully used in treating microsporidiosis at other sites, but their role in CNS infection is unclear.
微孢子虫是专性细胞内形成孢子的生物体。几种微孢子虫可导致人类疾病，主要发生在免疫功能低下的宿主中。疾病谱从腹泻、角膜结膜炎到累及多个器官的播散性感染不等。中枢神经系统疾病是一种罕见的表现，通常在免疫功能受损的宿主中作为播散性感染的一部分出现。文献中仅报道了12例中枢神经系统微孢子虫病病例。临床上，患者通常表现为脑炎和癫痫发作的体征和症状。诊断通常需要进行脑活检，但偶尔也可在其他部位发现孢子。阿苯达唑和烟曲霉素已成功用于治疗其他部位的微孢子虫病，但其在中枢神经系统感染中的作用尚不清楚。
