CEREBRAL AMEBIASIS IN THE ACQUIRED-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-SYNDROME

Rare cases of cerebral amebiasis have been described in AIDS? patients . We report the case of a 46 year-old homosexual man with AIDS who dev eloped an intermittent amnesia and a right palpebral ptosis. The cereb rospinal fluid contained 169 cells (75% lymphocytes). The patient died five days after hospitalization. Necropsy revealed thrombosis of smal l vessels of the periventricular regions as well as necrosis and hemor rhage of the periventricular tissue, cerebellum and brainstem. The inf lammatory process was scarce and composed mainly of CD-68 positive mac rophages. In these regions as well as in meninges there were many trop hozoites of ameba of the Acanthamoeba group. Although cerebral amebias is is rare even in AIDS, the clinician should be attentive to this dia gnosis in patients with an insidious encephalitis and cerebral cogniti ve abnormalities, with or without focal motor signs.