Challenges and advances in the medical treatment of granulomatous amebic encephalitis

Granulomatous amebic encephalitis, caused by the free-living amebae Balamuthia mandrillaris or Acanthamoeba species, is a rare and deadly infectious syndrome with a current mortality rate of >90%. Much work remains to define the optimal treatment for these infections. Here, we provide a comprehen...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Therapeutic advances in infectious disease 2024-01, Vol.11
Main Authors: Spottiswoode, Natasha, Haston, Julia C., Hanners, Natasha W., Gruenberg, Katherine, Kim, Annie, DeRisi, Joseph L., Wilson, Michael R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Granulomatous amebic encephalitis, caused by the free-living amebae Balamuthia mandrillaris or Acanthamoeba species, is a rare and deadly infectious syndrome with a current mortality rate of >90%. Much work remains to define the optimal treatment for these infections. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of the supporting evidence behind antimicrobials currently recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with updated statistics on survival rates and medication usage from the CDC Free-Living Ameba Database. We also discuss promising treatments, especially the emerging therapeutic agent nitroxoline, and provide recommendations for the next steps in this area.
ISSN:2049-9361
2049-937X
DOI:10.1177/20499361241228340