Chapter 22: Diseases of the nervous system Lecture NS overview Bacterial diseases Viral diseases Fungal diseases
The nervous system 2 components: - CNS: brain and spinal cord - PNS: nerves extending from CNS Meningitis- infection of the meninges Encephalitis- infection of the brain Protection via blood-brain barrier
Meninges and cerebrospinal fluid
Etiologies of bacterial meningitis
Neisseria meningitidis, Meningococcal meningitis Symptoms Due to endotoxin Rash that doesn’t fade when pressed Throat infection- bacteriemia- meningitis
Clostridium tetani- tetanus Symptoms Due to tetanospasmin toxin Spastic paralysis
Clostridium botulinum- botulism Symptoms Due to exotoxin (Types A, B, and C) Flaccid paralysis Blurred vision Nausea, no fever
Mycobacterium leprae- Hansern’s Disease or leprosy Symptoms Tuberculoid PNS infected Skin shows immune reactions Lepromatous Skin cells infected Disfiguring nodules Less immune response Tissue necrosis
Polio virus- Poliomyelitis
Rhabdoviridae- rabies Symptoms First stage Mild and varied CNS infected Hydrophobia Mouth/pharyngeal spasms Meningitis/ encephalitis
Diseases in Focus 22.2 (2 of 3)
Diseases in Focus 22.2 (3 of 3)
Cryptococcus neoformans Meningitis (Cryptococcosis) Soil fungus associated with pigeon and chicken droppings Transmitted by the respiratory route through dried contaminated droppings In the immunocompromised, it spreads through blood to the CNS Mortality of up to 30% Treatment: amphotericin B and flucytosine
Figure 22.15 Cryptococcus neoformans.
Nervous System Diseases Caused by Prions Prion: abnormally folded protein Causes normal proteins in the brain tissue to become abnormally folded Leads to spongiform degeneration Chronic and fatal Transmissable spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) Sheep scrapie TSE in sheep Chronic wasting disease TSE in deer and elk Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) Mad Cow Disease Possibly due to cattle eating feed containing bone meal from scrapie-infected sheep
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE)- Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Symptoms Prion disease Loss of motor control Death
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies- Kuru (TSE in humans that is caused by cannibalism)