"Primary" gonococcal meningitis

Article Abstract:

Meningitis is an inflammation of the tissues of the brain and spinal cord. It may be a very serious condition, especially when it is caused by bacterial infection. Meningococcal bacterial infection is the predominant cause of such cases of meningitis. Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the bacterium that causes the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea. It is not usually considered to be a cause of meningitis. This study examined the case of a man with meningitis in whom N. gonorrhoeae was found to be the underlying cause. The 39-year-old patient was admitted to the hospital with classical symptoms of meningitis. Meningococcal meningitis was the presumptive diagnosis and treatment with penicillin was begun. Test results of spinal cord fluid (cerebrospinal fluid) revealed that the underlying cause of the patient's condition was infection with N. gonorrhoeae; no other bacteria were found in the specimen. Tests from other areas of his body and from his wife were all negative for N. gonorrhoeae. Treatment with penicillin was continued and the patient recovered by day 12. This case demonstrates that meningitis can be caused by gonococcal bacteria as well as by meningococcal bacteria. Symptoms and treatment for both infections are similar. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Case studies, Causes of, Meningitis

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Acute gonococcal sepsis in an HIV-infected woman

Article Abstract:

Disseminated gonococcal infection may be more severe and have unusual symptoms in women whose immune systems are weakened by HIV. A 35-year-old woman having difficulty breathing and experiencing pain in the abdomen and lower back was seen at a hospital emergency department. Her condition worsened and she was suspected of having meningitis. The next day she experienced joint pain. Blood cultures revealed Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection rather than meningitis. She was treated with ceftriaxone. In her case, N. gonorrhoeae infection caused acute sepsis, or infection of the blood, previously a rare cause of sepsis. Gonococcal infection of her heart would not have caused the sepsis. The patient did not have AIDS, but did have high CD4 cell counts, an indication that her immune system was weak.

Health aspects, Women, Risk factors, HIV infections, HIV infection in women

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Gonococcal Infection of Human Fallopian Tube Mucosa in Organ Culture: Relationship of Mucosal Tissue TNF-[Alpha] Concentration to Sloughing of Ciliated Cells

Article Abstract:

Gonococcal infection of the fallopian tubes may be characterized by an increase in the concentration of tumor necrosis factor in the mucous membranes, causing sloughing of cells from the fallopian tubes. Researchers studied fallopian tube cells in tissue culture to determine the physiological changes associated with the infection. Tumor necrosis factor, an inflammatory substance, increases in concentration and in relation to mucous membrane damage. The influence of tumor necrosis factor on the fallopian tubes may be the cause of inflammation and infertility following gonococcal infection.

United States, Physiological aspects, Tumor necrosis factor, Salpingitis

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