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Review
. 2022;9(1):1-7.
doi: 10.1007/s40475-022-00253-w. Epub 2022 Mar 30.

Central Nervous System Cryptococcosis due to Cryptococcus gattii in the Tropics

Jairo Lizarazo  1 , Elizabeth Castañeda  2
Affiliations
Review

Central Nervous System Cryptococcosis due to Cryptococcus gattii in the Tropics

Jairo Lizarazo et al. Curr Trop Med Rep. 2022.

Abstract

Purpose of review: Cryptococcosis of the central nervous system due to Cryptococcus gattii species complex is a serious mycosis with worldwide distribution but of great importance in the tropics. This article aims to review the progress made in these regions in the knowledge of this disease and its etiological agent.

Recent findings: They can be summarized in the presence in apparently immunocompetent patients of autoantibodies against granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), which is a hidden risk factor for acquiring C. gattii infection; this finding strengthens the concept that C. gattii is an opportunistic pathogen. A greater knowledge of the clinical and molecular epidemiology of C. gattii infection and of the different environmental niches of this fungus in the tropics. The discovery of a new lineage of C. gattii, VGV, in environmental samples from Africa. Until now, the COVID-19 pandemic has not meant an increase in cryptococcosis cases.

Summary: Advances have been made in the identification of risk factors for cryptococcosis due to C. gattii as well as in the knowledge of its etiological agent and its relationship with the environment. Remarkably, there have been no significant achievements in diagnosis and treatment notwithstanding the documented importance.

Keywords: AIDS; Cryptococcoma; Cryptococcosis; Cryptococcus gattii species complex; Encephalitis; Meningitis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of InterestThe authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Original drawings by Ferdinand Curtis describing Saccharomyces subcutaneous tumefaciens. A From culture in different media. B Histopathology from rats inoculated with the yeast and from the human case diagnosed (*). Annales de l'Institut Pasteur (1895) [5]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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