Viral and fungal infections in hematopoeitic stem cell transplant recipients with neurological alterations: a colaborative study

• Grant number: 06/04393-3
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: December 01, 2006
• End date: February 28, 2009
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Clarisse Martins Machado
• Grantee: Clarisse Martins Machado
• Host Institution: Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo (IMT). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Neurological alterations are common after haematological stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Frequency rates vary around 50% being higher (up to 70%) in non-related HSCT recipients. Drug toxicity (mainly cyclosporine), central nervous system infections, leukemia relapse and bleeding are the main causes of the appearance of CNS symptoms.The vast majority of the published studies are retrospective or post-mortem evaluations of neurological findings and has focused on opportunistic infections, radiological images or neurological syndromes with no etiologic correlation. No study has systematically evaluated the neurological syndromes after HSCT taking into account the diagnosis of opportunistic infections and the spectra of radiological images during these episodes.Using more sensitive molecular methods for the diagnosis of viral and fungal infections, the present study aims to evaluated the frequency of neurological alterations in after HSCT as well the prevalence of infections and the main radiological images observed during viral and fungal infections in 144 HSCT recipients with CNS symptoms during the first 100 days of transplantation. (AU)