Spirochaetal infections of the nervous system

Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis following <i>Leptospira</i> Infection

“…ADE typically occurs 1-4 weeks after the infection or immunization, with the abrupt onset of low-grade fever, headache, meningismus and encephalopathy, with symptoms ranging from lethargy to coma and seizures. A wide variety of central and peripheral nervous system syndromes occur, including aseptic meningitis, cranial and peripheral neuropathy, encephalomyelitis and in most severe cases hemorrhagic complications [7,8]. Progression and evolution of neurological complications occurs over days (as in our patient) to weeks, being complete by 1 month.…”

The widening spectrum of infectious neurological disease.

“…A variety of neurological symptoms and signs occur in about 15% of cases when the nervous system is involved in the second stage of the disease.32 This includes meningoencephalitis, cranial nerve palsies and radiculopathy. 32 Another relatively recently recognised disease is legionnaires' disease caused by the bacterium Legionella pneumophila, which is also known to produce diverse neurological impairment.33 Interestingly, legionnaires' disease was prevalent as long ago as the 1940s and 1950s, as shown by retrospective studies,3435 and may well have been the actual cause of some cases of so-called "virus pneumonia".…”