GRANULOMATOUS AMEBIC ENCEPHALITIS CAUSED BY ACANTHAMOEBA

Infections arising from free-living amebae are rare. They generally ca use recognizable disease only in chronically ill, debilitated patients who are immune suppressed. Only about 70 cases of granulomatous amebi c encephalitis have been reported. We present an unusual case of granu lomatous encephalitis in a 35-year-old man. Neurologic examination and laboratory tests were inconclusive. CT demonstrated bilateral low-den sity areas with mild mass effect in the cortex and subcortical white m atter, which showed increased signal on T2-weighted MRI. Craniotomy an d brain biopsy revealed granulomatous encephalitis with acanthamoeba o rganisms. Though nonspecific, imaging can support the diagnosis of ame bic encephalitis and direct biopsy.