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Granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE) [2] is a rare, often fatal, subacute-to-chronic central nervous system disease caused by certain species of free-living amoebae [3] of the genera Acanthamoeba, Balamuthia and Sappinia.
Acanthamoeba – an amoeba that can cause amoebic keratitis and encephalitis in humans; Balamuthia mandrillaris – an amoeba that is the cause of (often fatal) granulomatous amoebic meningoencephalitis; Entamoeba histolytica – an amoeba that is the cause of amoebiasis, or amoebic dysentery; Leptospira – a zoonotic bacteria that causes ...
Free-living amoebae (or "FLA") [1] are a group of protozoa that are important causes of infectious disease in humans and animals.. Naegleria fowleri is often included in the group "free-living amoebae", [2] [3] and this species causes a usually fatal condition traditionally called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).
Balamuthia mandrillaris is a free-living amoeba that causes the rare but deadly neurological condition granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE). [1] B. mandrillaris is a soil-dwelling amoeba and was first discovered in 1986 in the brain of a mandrill that died in the San Diego Wild Animal Park.
Naegleriasis, also known as primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), is an almost invariably fatal infection of the brain by the free-living protozoan Naegleria fowleri. Symptoms include headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, a stiff neck, confusion, hallucinations and seizures. [6]
The Balamuthia amoebae can then travel to the brain through the bloodstream and cause GAE. GAE is a very rare disease that is usually fatal. [2] Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) first discovered Balamuthia mandrillaris in 1986. The amoeba was found in the brain of a dead mandrill.
Effective treatment against all stages of the disease may require a combination of medications. [2] Infections without symptoms may be treated with just one antibiotic, and infections with symptoms are treated with two antibiotics. [3] Amoebiasis is present all over the world, [6] though most cases occur in the developing world. [7]
Granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE) is caused by amoebic infection of the central nervous system (CNS). It is characterized by neurological symptoms including headache, seizures, and mental-status abnormalities. [1] These worsen progressively over weeks to months, leading to death in most patients. [1]