Paracoccidioidomycosis in cerebral hemisphere and brainstem: case report

We report on a 36 years-old man that had been at the Amazon forest four years before. Six months before the admission he had developed a progressive quadriparesis, gait ataxia, dysphagia, dysarthria, difficulty in breathing and hiccup. The gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted MRI showed a lesion into the right parietoccipital area and another into the medulla, that was the largest. There was any evidence of tuberculosis or AIDS. The patient was submitted to microsurgical approach to the medulla. Pathological examination revealed paracoccidioidomycosis. Treatment with anphotericin B till 2100mg was administered followed by sulfamethoxazole-trimetoprim for three months plus physical therapy. The patient went back to his activities six months after the end of the treatment. Comments are presented about the participation of the immunological system and of the cytokines (interleukines).

paracoccidioidomycosis; central nervous system; immunological system; cytokines; interleukines