ABSTRACT
The past several years have seen major advances in our understanding of neurological
infectious diseases, their diagnosis, and their treatment. Along with these advances,
however, new information about infectious agents and new therapeutic options have
also introduced both uncertainty and controversy in the approach and management of
patients with diseases of the central nervous system. Here, we discuss six such areas:
the long-term efficacy of HAART therapy in treatment of HIV infection; the role of
viral infection in chronic fatigue syndrome; Rasmussen's encephalitis as an infectious
or autoimmune disease; the spectrum of neurological diseases caused by rickettsial
infection; the role of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in human central nervous system disease; and the possible association of Chlamydia pneumoniae and human herpesvirus 6 with multiple sclerosis.
KEYWORD
Rasmussen's encephalitis - chronic fatigue syndrome - rickettsial infection - mycoplasma
pneumoniae - multiple sclerosis - controversies in neurology