       Document 0719
 DOCN  M95A0719
 TI    The diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis.
 DT    9510
 AU    Monteyne P; Sindic CJ; Laboratory of Neurochemistry, Catholic University
       of Louvain,; Brussels.
 SO    Acta Neurol Belg. 1995;95(2):80-7. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE
       MED/95343712
 AB    The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) is expected to increase substantially
       during the next 10 years as well as its extrapulmonary manifestations,
       often in association with the HIV panepidemic. TB meningitis displays
       some clinical and radiological characteristics but the gold standard for
       diagnosis remains the identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in
       the CSF by direct staining of culture. Direct staining, however, is
       rarely successful and culturing of M. Tuberculosis can take 4 to 8
       weeks. Other techniques may be helpful, such as the detection of an
       intrathecal synthesis of antimycobacterial antibodies, or the detection
       in the CSF of the mycobacterial genome by the polymerase chain reaction
       (PCR). DNA amplification, and especially the nested amplification
       protocol, may represent a major step forward and find its place as a
       sensitive, specific and rapid test in the routine diagnostic laboratory.
 DE    Cerebrospinal Fluid/MICROBIOLOGY  Human  Immunologic Techniques
       Mycobacterium tuberculosis/GENETICS/IMMUNOLOGY/ISOLATION & PURIF
       Polymerase Chain Reaction  Tomography, X-Ray Computed  Tuberculosis,
       Meningeal/CEREBROSPINAL FLUID/*DIAGNOSIS/  RADIOGRAPHY  JOURNAL ARTICLE
       REVIEW  REVIEW, TUTORIAL

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).

