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A positive cryptococcal antigen test may precede symptoms by 3 weeks in those with HIV/AIDS. Others may have re-activation of latent cryptococcal disease years later. In those with HIV, approximately 50% of people have a fever, but fever is rare in previously healthy and immunocompetent people with cryptococcosis.
Cryptococcal antigen from cerebrospinal fluid is thought to be the best test for diagnosis of cryptococcal meningitis in terms of sensitivity, though it might be unreliable in HIV-positive patients. [12] The first genome sequence for a strain of C. neoformans (var. neoformans; now C. deneoformans) was published in 2005. [5]
The World Health Organization recommends a screen and treat approach to diagnose cryptococcal meningitis in those with HIV. All HIV-positive people with low CD4+ T cells should undergo cryptococcal serum antigen testing. Those who screen positive for serum cryptococcal antigen should undergo a lumbar puncture followed by treatment if the ...
Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) is a condition seen in some cases of HIV/AIDS or immunosuppression, in which the immune system begins to recover, but then responds to a previously acquired opportunistic infection with an overwhelming inflammatory response that paradoxically makes the symptoms of infection worse.
Diagnosis of cryptococcal meningitis can be made at low cost using an India ink stain of the CSF; however, testing for cryptococcal antigen in blood or CSF is more sensitive. [ 55 ] [ 56 ] A diagnostic and therapeutic difficulty is "partially treated meningitis", where there are meningitis symptoms after receiving antibiotics (such as for ...
The hook effect refers to the prozone phenomenon, also known as antibody excess, or the postzone phenomenon, also known as antigen excess. It is an immunologic phenomenon whereby the effectiveness of antibodies to form immune complexes can be impaired when concentrations of an antibody or an antigen are very high.
Most people infected with HIV develop seroconverted (antigen-specific) antibodies within three to twelve weeks after the initial infection. [32] Diagnosis of primary HIV before seroconversion is done by measuring HIV-RNA or p24 antigen. [32] Positive results obtained by antibody or PCR testing are confirmed either by a different antibody or by ...
An opportunistic infection is a serious infection caused by pathogens (bacteria, fungi, parasites or viruses) that under normal conditions, such as in humans with uncompromised immune systems, would cause a mild infection or no infection at all.