[Fungal infections of the central nervous system in the immunocompetent host].

The majority of mycoses which lead to mycotic tumors in patients without any predisposing underlying disease are either caused by Cryptococcus gattii and C. neoformans or by dematiaceous fungi which include Cladophialophora bantiana, Ramichloridium mackenziei, Exophiala and Fonsecaea species. The detection of hyphae in granuloma in the brain should lead to screening for pigmented fungi, which are recognized best in hematoxylin eosin (HE) or sometimes also in periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) stained sections. In patients who survive a near drowning accident and those who develop brain abscesses, scedosporiosis should always be considered as a possible infection.