Autoimmune chronic meningitis secondary to pneumococcal meningitis. Report of one case Pneumococcal meningitis produces several inflammatory disorders in susceptible subjects. A worsening of meningitis can occur on the fourth day of evolution in relation with the withdrawal of steroids. Other complications include the development of inflammatory signs in the post-acute stage of infection associated with disseminated vasculitis of the cerebral blood vessels and, even later, an autoimmune chronic meningitis. All these inflammatory complications are well controlled with the use of steroids. We report a 53-year-old woman with pneumococcal meningitis that had a good response to treatment with antibiotics and steroids. On the four day, after the steroids were discontinued, she complained of headache, became confused, and had an abnormal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), report CT angiography showed signs of arteritis. She improved when the steroids were re-started. She was discharged in good condition but after slow tapering of the steroids over a four-month period she had a relapse of all her symptoms and had a gait disturbance. On readmission, she had an inflammatory CSF, there were no signs of infection and the cerebral MRI showed meningeal thickening with ventricular space enlargement. She improved again with steroids and she is now well on high-dose steroids but deteriorates each time the steroids are stopped. She experienced both acute and sub-acute inflammatory responses and finally developed a chronic meningitis responsive, and is dependent on steroids. (Rev Med Chile 2019; 147: 803-807)
Background Motricity has been proposed to shape our perception and the pre‐reflective knowledge of the other as embodied agents. Through our motor system, we have a meaningful pre‐reflective conception of the experience of the other (empathy). We compared the sensorimotor responses and emotional perception in persons with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and healthy older adults (HOA) while they watched videos of sportswomen/sportsmen suffering physical accidents and videos of a neutral condition. Method 86 participants older than 60 years were recruited (AD = 28, PD = 25, HOA = 33). Subjects with AD were diagnosed following NINCDS‐ADRDA criteria and PD with the United Kingdom Parkinson’s Disease Society Brain Bank. The assessment consisted of two parts. Firstly, a neuropsychological battery that included assessment in global cognition (ACE‐III), executive function (IFS, FAS), memory (FCRST), and social cognition (Minisea). Secondly, participants stood up without moving on a force platform while watching videos (60 seconds long and seven scenes each). One video showed sportswomen/sportsmen having physical accidents practicing extreme sports (pain condition), and the other was a neutral condition (home furnishings). At the end of each video, participants rated valence, intensity, and control (1‐9). Each scene was analyzed through six consecutive windows: three seconds before the fall and three after the fall. The six windows of the neutral condition were selected by taking the central temporal part of each scene. Subsequently, and in each window, the AnteroPosterior amplitude of the Center of Pressure (AP‐CoP) was calculated. Results Participants with AD showed significant impairment in practically all cognitive domains, compared to PD and HOA. An Anova (group*condition*temporal windows) revealed a simple effect on group and condition in AP‐CoP displacement. AD and PD showed higher AP‐CoP in both pain and neutral condition than HOA. PD and HOA showed higher AP‐CoP in pain condition than neutral condition, but not AD. In the ANOVA (group*condition), AD rated (p <0.01) higher the emotional valence in the pain condition (5,93±2,72) than PD (3,52±2,2) and HOA (4,06±2,29). Conclusion Sensorimotor responses in AD and PD showed enhanced AP‐CoP when compared to HOA. Moreover, AD patients showed a marked impairment in perceiving empathy towards the pain of others.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.