Cerebral tuberculosis is the most severe type of extrapulmonary disease that is in developing countries highly predominant in children. Meningeal tuberculosis is the most common form and usually begins with respiratory infection followed by early haematogenous dissemination to extrapulmonary sites involving the brain. In comparison with the lung, Mycobacterium tuberculosis induces a very different immune response when infect the central nervous system. Herein, we review several aspects of the pathogenesis and immune response in pulmonary and cerebral tuberculosis in humans and experimental models and discuss the implications of this response in the cerebral infection outcome.
Keywords: cerebrospinal fluid; tuberculosis; tuberculous meningitis.