Central Nervous System Histoplasmosis: An Updated Insight

Pathogens. 2023 May 5;12(5):681. doi: 10.3390/pathogens12050681.

Abstract

Histoplasmosis is one of the systemic mycoses that can involve the Central Nervous System (CNS), and it is caused by the dimorphic ascomycete species of the Histoplasma capsulatum complex. Once in the CNS, this pathogen causes life-threatening injuries that are associated with clinical manifestations of meningitis, focal lesions (abscesses, histoplasmomas), and spinal cord injuries. The present review provides updated data and highlights a particular vision regarding this mycosis and its causative agent, as well as its epidemiology, clinical forms, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and therapy, focusing on the CNS.

Keywords: CNS infection; H. capsulatum; dissemination; histoplasmomas; host’s CNS injuries.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by internal funding from the Laboratorio de Inmunología de Hongos, Facultad de Medicina, UNAM.