Acanthamoeba encephalitis is an uncommon but often fatal infection complication. Here we report the first case of Acanthamoeba encephalitis in a patient with a Total Artificial Heart device.

Extracts of Acanthamoeba castellanii were previously known to contain two myosin-like ATPases: Acanthumoeba myosin II, a double-headed enzyme of native molecular weight of about 400,000 comprised of two heavy chains of about 170,000 daltons and two pairs of light chains of about 17,500 and 17,000 daltons; and Acanthxwweba myosin I, a single-headed enzyme of native molecular weight of about 180,...

Dear Editor, Acanthamoeba species are opportunistic pathogens that can cause life-threatening diseases in the immunocompromised host. In healthy individuals, Acanthamoeba can cause ulcerating keratitis, which is associated with the use of improperly sterilised contact lenses, trauma or washing with contaminated water.1 Reports have shown that the defenses of a healthy host seemed sufficient to ...

Acanthamoeba causes opportunistic eye infections in humans, which can lead to severe keratitis and may ultimately result in blindness. Current methods for identifying this organism rely on culture and microscopy. In this paper, we describe the isolation of antibody fragments that can be used for the unequivocal identification of Acanthamoeba. A bacteriophage antibody display library was used to...

Background and Aims: Acanthamoeba is a ubiquitous amphizoic organism which can cause lethal diseases such as granulomatous amoebic encephalitis and unfortunately, the infection has now increased in the world. The aim here was to evaluate in vitro anti-Acanthamoeba properties of crude aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Myrtus communis. Materials and Methods: In this experimental research, a clin...

Some carbohydrates are known to decrease the attachment of Acanthamoeba sp. to biological surfaces. By a method based on the reduction of a tetrazolium salt (XTT) by the mitochondrial dehydrogenases of the parasites, d-mannose and alpha-d-mannopyranoside have been shown to reduce Acanthamoeba attachment to inert surfaces, indicating that the mannose binding protein of Acanthamoeba trophozoites ...

Acanthamoeba granulomatous encephalitis generally develops as a result of haematogenous spread, but it is unclear how circulating amoebae enter the central nervous system (CNS) and cause inflammation. At present, the mechanisms which Acanthamoeba use to invade this incredibly well-protected area of the CNS and produce infection are not well understood. In this paper, we propose two key virulenc...

Amoebic keratitis (AK) caused by Acanthamoeba is one of the most serious corneal infections. AK is frequently misdiagnosed initially as viral, bacterial, or fungal keratitis, thus ensuring treatment delays. Accordingly, the early detection of Acanthamoeba would contribute significantly to disease management and selection of an appropriate anti-amoebic therapy. Recently, the loop-mediated isothe...

Eighteen cases of Acanthamoeba-associated keratitis among contact lens wearers seen at the Department of Ophthalmology, Karl-Franzens-University, Graz, Austria, between 1996 and 1999 are reviewed. The amoebae were proven to be the causative agents in three patients. The aim of our study was to discriminate between clinically relevant and nonrelevant isolates and to assess the relatedness of the...