The American journal of the medical sciences
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Many different tissues may be parasitized by Toxoplasma gondii, particularly, lung, heart, lymphoid organs, and the central nervous tissues. Tissue cysts of this parasite in the brain may spontaneously rupture, releasing parasites that cause antibody titers to rise. In immunocompetent subjects with acquired toxoplasmosis, the most frequent symptoms were lymphadenopathy and headache. In the neurogenic inflammation theory of the pathogenesis of migraine, the cause of initial release of ions and inflammatory agents has not been established. In this study, we aimed to investigate if T. gondii infection is a possible cause of neurogenic inflammation of migraines. ⋯ The results show the presence of chronic Toxoplasma infection in patients with migraine. Toxoplasma infection may contribute to neurogenic inflammation as the pathogenesis of migraine, as many studies in the literature have reported that Toxoplasma infection causes biochemical and immunologic changes.
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Pseudomembranous colitis (PMC) is known to develop after antibiotic treatment, but is rarely associated with antituberculosis (anti-TB) agents. We report a 28-year-old woman without underlying diseases developing PMC after 126 days of anti-TB treatment. Severe diarrhea and abdominal cramping pain were experienced. ⋯ Her symptoms improved after discontinuing the anti-TB agents but recurred shortly after challenging with rifampin and isoniazid. Metronidazole administration and replacement of rifampin with levofloxacin successfully cured the PMC. Our report supports the notion that rifampin can induce PMC.