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Occurrence of brain calcifications, iron deposits, and tonic-clonic convulsions following experimental infections with Candida albicans

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Summary

During the prolonged presence ofCandida albicans in the spleen of Wistar rats, two cases of calcium deposits in the brain were observed. In one case there was one big calcium deposit at some distance from the cortex. In this case, thickening in a limited area of the leptomeninges was found. The animal had generalized tonicclonic convulsions which lead to death. In the second case, calcium deposits formed two separate agglomerations in the posterior part of the thalamus. Serial sections made at six micron intervals showed the presence of calcium deposits to a depth of forty-eight microns. At twenty-four microns other calcium deposits were observed in the thalamus symmetrically located to those described above.

Small iron deposits were found in the anterior part of the thalamus and other iron deposits were found in the temporal lobe of the brain. They were arranged in a straight line along the capillary vessels and most of them were seen in the macrophages in the vicinity of the vessels.

Since calcium deposits in the brain occurred in the same experimental conditions as reported cases of calcinosis, it is probable that the same mechanism is involved in all these pathological calcium deposits.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers, The State University, New Brunswick, New Jersey

    Z. Thaddeus Mankowski M. D.

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  1. Z. Thaddeus Mankowski M. D.
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This work was supported by a Damon Runyon Memorial Fund Grant Nr. 720.

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Mankowski, Z.T. Occurrence of brain calcifications, iron deposits, and tonic-clonic convulsions following experimental infections with Candida albicans. Mycopathologia et Mycologia Applicata 23, 141–149 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02049271

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02049271

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