What Are the Different Types of Nervous System Infections?

Central nervous system infection is a variety of viruses that can invade the central nervous system and cause meningitis and / or encephalitis. Due to the application of immunosuppressive agents, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and organ transplantation, and the improvement of diagnostic techniques for viral infections, the rate of viral central nervous system infection may increase in the future.

English name: Infections of the Central Nervous System
Visiting department: Neurology

Whether it is contagious: no
Disease characteristics: Many viruses can cause damage to the central nervous system
Can it be cured: Depending on the condition
Common symptoms: Coma, convulsions, paralysis, paresthesia, etc.

Causes of central nervous system infection

More than 80% of viral meningitis is caused by enteroviruses (including polio, coxsackie, elco, and new enterovirus 71). Followed by mumps virus, lymphocytic choroid plexus meningitis virus, type II simple herpes virus, etc. are also more common. Varicella-zoster virus, Epstein-Barr virus, and cytomegalovirus can also cause, but it is rare. The clinical manifestations of meningitis caused by different viruses are not much different. In general, the disease is not serious and the prognosis is good. Viral encephalitis is still most commonly caused by Japanese encephalitis virus. Type I herpes simplex virus causes more severe illness, poor prognosis, severe cases with high mortality, and more sequelae.

Clinical manifestations of central nervous system infection

Patients with central nervous system infections often experience symptoms such as coma, convulsions, paralysis, paresthesia, difficulty swallowing, and impaired stool. Because of coma and paralysis, the patient does not cough or turn over, so it is easy to be complicated by pneumonia and pressure ulcers. Sudden convulsions can cause suffocation, and urinary disorders are prone to urinary tract infections. These complications can prolong the course and aggravate the condition. Careful nursing work is one of the important conditions for prompt recovery of patients. [1]

(A) Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis:

The disease is caused by measles-deficient virus and is characterized by progressive dementia, ataxia, ataxia, muscle spasms, and other nervous systems.

(B) Prion disease:

Prion disease is a class of sporadic central nervous system degenerative diseases caused by infectious prion protein (PrP).

(Three) the combined diagnosis of purulent meningitis:

Traditional diagnosis methods are cerebrospinal fluid bacterial smear and bacterial culture. The smear method has a low positive rate, but the bacterial culture method takes too long and delays the treatment time. Currently, ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) technology is used to detect the corresponding specific antibodies, and PCR is used to detect the corresponding bacterial DNA.

(D) Viral meningitis:

The corresponding viral DNA was detected by PCR.

Central nervous system infection test

(1) Detection of virus-specific antigens and / or IgM antibodies by ELISA or immunofluorescence. Japanese encephalitis and enterovirus meningitis have adopted specific IgM antibodies as an early diagnosis measure.

(2) Viral nucleic acid detection. As long as the acid sequence of the virus is known, artificial primers can be used to perform PCR in vitro amplification, and virus-specific nucleic acid fragments can be obtained, which has early pathogenic diagnostic value. This method has been used to detect herpes simplex virus from patients with CSF.

(3) Lumbar puncture:

Do lumbar puncture as early as possible, and send the cerebrospinal fluid for routine, cytological and specific examinations. It is best to do bacterial culture or drug sensitivity tests, and do as far as possible the pathogenic examination. A single cerebrospinal fluid examination can not confirm the diagnosis, changes in the condition, observation of treatment effects, intrathecal medication, etc. need to repeat multiple lumbar punctures.

(4) Other auxiliary inspections:

Blood routine, ESR, EEG, etc. According to the condition and differential diagnosis, brain CT and MR scans are required.

Central nervous system infection treatment

For years, patients could only be given support and symptomatic treatment. It is mainly to destroy or inhibit pathogens, which often requires external force intervention, such as antibacterial drugs and the removal of lesions. It is also important to stimulate or promote the body's humoral and cellular immune mechanisms to moderately improve their defense and repair capabilities. In addition, correcting or adjusting pathophysiological mechanisms to reduce the damage of inflammatory reactions to target organs, protect brain function, and pay attention to the balance of water and electrolytes are also very important auxiliary means of metallurgy.

Prognosis of central nervous system infection

In recent years, the understanding of cellular and humoral immunity during the disease process has gradually increased, and therefore, the pathogenesis and pathophysiological changes of CNS infection have also been better understood. Due to the different immune responses, the same pathogenic factor may cause mild disease in different people, some may be severe, and some may appear repeatedly. In the treatment and control of the source of infection, it is also necessary to consider the damage caused by the immune response and improve the body's immune ability.

Central nervous system infection prevention

1. It is necessary to adjust the diet reasonably, not only to ensure comprehensive nutrition, but also to prevent excess nutrition and lead to obesity. Avoid tobacco and alcohol. It is also necessary to strengthen physical exercise, because exercise is conducive to enhancing the cardiopulmonary function of the human body, improving the functional conditions of the blood circulation system, respiratory system, and digestive system, improving disease resistance, and enhancing the ability of the organism to adapt.

2. Pay attention to timely care in daily life, adhere to extremity function exercises, and can perform grip strength, flexion and extension, rotation and so on. During the daily care and health care process, the extremities need to be kept warm and prevent burns. In addition to quadriplegia during acute infection, respiratory muscle paralysis may be associated with it, and should be immediately sent to the hospital for rescue.

3. Also avoid long-term exposure to chemicals such as chemicals and long-term exposure to chemical poisons. For patients who have been taking isoniazid, phenytoin, chloroquine, sulfa and other drugs for a long time, if they find signs of the disease, they should stop taking the medicine immediately and go to the hospital to ask a doctor for symptomatic treatment.