Studies investigating Xpert MTB/RIF diagnostic performance on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples are lacking in resource-rich settings. Xpert MTB/RIF results for 740 CSF samples from 698 patients across England were retrospectively compared with the results of culture of the same and contemporary samples. The overall sensitivity was calculated at 55%.

Cortisol concentration was estimated by a competitive protein-binding method in the lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients suffering from depression or from mania, and compared with the CSF cortisol concentration of neurological control patients not suffering from an affective disorder. There were no significant differences between the groups.

An unexpectedly extensive recruitment of B cells and plasma blasts to the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in a patient with Toscana virus (TOSV) encephalitis is described. Acute infection by TOSV was demonstrated by serological methods and by detection of TOSV-specific nucleic acid in the CSF by real-time polymerase chain reaction and sequencing.

Pneumolysin, a virulence factor of Streptococcus pneumoniae with cytotoxic and proinflammatory activities, occurs at concentrations from 0.85 to 180 ng/ml in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of meningitis patients. In pneumococcal cultures and in a rabbit meningitis model, the concentrations of pneumolysin in supernatant and CSF were lower after addition of nonbacteriolytic bactericidal antibiotics (r...

We report acute encephalopathy associated with influenza A infection in 3 adults. We detected high cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma concentrations of CXCL8/IL-8 and CCL2/MCP-1 (CSF/plasma ratios > or =3), and interleukin-6, CXCL10/IP-10, but no evidence of viral neuroinvasion. Patients recovered without sequelae. Hyperactivated cytokine response may play a role in pathogenesis.

Toscana virus was detected by reverse transcription-nested PCR in 5.6% of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from patients with meningitis and encephalitis during the summer in southern Italy. The central nervous system infections were associated with young adults and with a substantially benign clinical course. Presenting features and CSF findings are also discussed in the present report.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage is a routinely used adjunct in thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) surgery which may reduce the incidence of perioperative paraplegia by improving the spinal cord perfusion. However, a small but evident complication rate of lumbar drainage should be considered. We present two rare cases of intracerebellar hematoma possibly due to excessive CSF drainage aft...

Varicella zoster virus (VZV) pneumonitis and brainstem encephalitis developed in an immunocompetent adult without rash. Chest computed tomography exhibited nodularity; lung biopsy revealed multinucleated giant cells, Cowdry A inclusions, VZV antigen, and DNA. Varicella zoster virus central nervous system disease was verified by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) anti-VZV IgG antibody with reduced serum/...

After a difficult nasal intubation a premature infant leaked cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from one nostril. After developing bacterial meningitis, the baby was referred for neurosurgical management of the CSF fistula. Transaxial computed tomograms demonstrated a nasal encephalocele, but coronal scans were needed to show the defect in the cribriform plate.

The textbook view that projections of the arachnoid membrane into the cranial venous sinuses represent the primary cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) absorption sites seems incompatible with many clinical and experimental observations. On balance, there is more quantitative evidence suggesting a function for extracranial lymphatic vessels than exists to support a role for arachnoid villi and granulation...