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Rochalimaea antibodies in HIV-associated neurologic disease
Identifier
019944
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
Bartonella henselae, formerly Rochalimæa, is a proteobacterium that can cause bacteremia, endocarditis, bacillary angiomatosis, and peliosis hepatis. It is also the causative agent of cat-scratch disease[1] (bartonellosis) which, as the name suggests, occurs after a cat bite or scratch. The disease is characterized by lymphadenopathy (swelling of the lymph nodes) and fever.
The Proteobacteria are a major group (phylum) of gram-negative bacteria
A description of the experience
Neurology. 1994 Jul;44(7):1312-6.
Rochalimaea antibodies in HIV-associated neurologic disease.
Schwartzman WA1, Patnaik M, Barka NE, Peter JB.
- 1Section of Infectious Diseases, UCLA Department of Medicine.
Abstract
Rochalimaea henselae, a recently described pathogen thought to cause syndromes as varied as bacillary angiomatosis, parenchymal bacillary peliosis, fever with bacteremia, and cat-scratch disease, is associated with CNS diseases including cerebral and retinal bacillary angiomatosis, as well as cat-scratch-related encephalitis, myelitis, cerebral arteritis, and retinitis. We used a newly developed enzyme immunoassay and the polymerase chain reaction to investigate the association of R henselae infection with HIV-related CNS disease and found that whereas seroprevalence rates in HIV-positive patients unselected for neurologic disease were 4% to 5.5%, those with neurologic disease had seroprevalence rates of 32%. The ratio of organism-specific antibodies in CSF compared with serum suggested intra-blood-brain-barrier synthesis of these antibodies. CSF specimens containing only R henselae IgM had 16S rDNA specific for R henselae. Stored serum from one of these patients indicated he had developed R henselae-reactive IgM antibodies 10 months prior to the onset of neurologic disease. In the 14 patients for whom clinical data were available, evidence of CNS invasion by R henselae was accompanied by acute and subacute mental status changes including hallucinations, disorientation, and rapidly progressive dementia.
PMID:
8035937