Corticosteroids for the management of severe intracranial hypertension in meningoencephalitis caused by Cryptococcus gattii: A case report and review.

Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome in meningitis caused by Cryptococcus gattii in immunocompetent patients after initiation of antifungal therapy appears to be the result of paradoxical antifungal treatment-induced clinical deterioration due to improved local immune responses to cryptococcal organisms. Recent anecdotal reports have suggested a favorable clinical response to corticosteroids in select patients with C. gattii central nervous system (CNS) infections. In this report, we describe a 65-year-old patient with meningoencephalitis caused by C. gattii who developed persistent intracranial hypertension and was successfully managed with antifungal therapy, repeated lumbar puncture and corticosteroids. Our observations suggest a possible benefit of dexamethasone in the management of select cases of C. gattii CNS infection with intracranial hypertension. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the long-term use of steroids in select patients with C. gattii with intracranial hypertension.

The effects of hypercaloric diets on glucose homeostasis in the rat: influence of saturated and monounsaturated dietary lipids.

Consumption of energy-dense/high-fat diets is strongly and positively associated with overweight and obesity, which are associated with increase in the prevalence of certain chronic diseases. We evaluated the effect of hypercaloric/fat or normocaloric diets on some biochemical parameters in rats. Seventy-two rats were divided into four groups that were fed for 16 weeks with diets: normocaloric [9.12% soy oil, normocaloric soy oil (NSO)], hypercaloric olive oil [43.8% olive oil, hypercaloric olive oil (HOO)], hypercaloric saturated fat [43.8% saturated fat, hypercaloric saturated fat (HSF)] and normocaloric saturated fat [43.8% saturated fat, normocaloric saturated fat (NSF)]. HSF rats consumed more calories daily than the others and gained more retroperitoneal fat, although HSF and HOO rats had higher body weight. In liver, glycogen synthesis and concentration were higher in rats HSF and NSF. In plasma, total cholesterol (TC) levels were higher in HSF rats than in the others, and triacylglycerol (TAG) levels were lower in HOO and higher in HSF rats in relation to the others. In liver, TC and TAG were elevated in HSF, NSF and HOO rats. Paraoxonase 1 activity, which is related to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and has anti-atherogenic role was lower in rats HSF. In HOO rats, glucose tolerance test was altered, but insulin tolerance test was normal. These results suggest that consumption of energy-dense/high-fat diets, both saturated or monounsaturated, causes damaging effects. However, more studies are necessary to understand the mechanisms by which these diets cause the metabolic alterations observed.