4.8 Review

The Interplay Between Neuroinfections, the Immune System and Neurological Disorders: A Focus on Africa

期刊

FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
卷 12, 期 -, 页码 -

出版社

FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.803475

关键词

neuroinfection; neurological disorder; immune system; neuroinflammation; sub-Saharan Africa; neuropathy; pathogen; central nervous system

资金

  1. Kuwait University, Research Sector [YP03/18, PT02/15]
  2. US NIH/Fogarty [1R21NS064888-01A1]
  3. Wellcome Trust [WT089992MA]
  4. Swedish Research Council [04480]
  5. European Commission [FP6-2004-INCO-DEV-3 032324]
  6. European Research Council (ERC) [671055, 768815]
  7. European Research Council (ERC) [768815] Funding Source: European Research Council (ERC)

向作者/读者索取更多资源

Neurological disorders related to neuroinfections are highly prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with epilepsy, dementia, motor neuron diseases, headache disorders, sleep disorders, and peripheral neuropathy being major health concerns. These disorders are often associated with HIV infection, as well as other infections such as toxoplasmosis and malaria. The pathogenesis involves the direct role of the virus, antiretroviral treatments, and immune system dysregulation.
Neurological disorders related to neuroinfections are highly prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), constituting a major cause of disability and economic burden for patients and society. These include epilepsy, dementia, motor neuron diseases, headache disorders, sleep disorders, and peripheral neuropathy. The highest prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is in SSA. Consequently, there is a high prevalence of neurological disorders associated with HIV infection such as HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders, motor disorders, chronic headaches, and peripheral neuropathy in the region. The pathogenesis of these neurological disorders involves the direct role of the virus, some antiretroviral treatments, and the dysregulated immune system. Furthermore, the high prevalence of epilepsy in SSA (mainly due to perinatal causes) is exacerbated by infections such as toxoplasmosis, neurocysticercosis, onchocerciasis, malaria, bacterial meningitis, tuberculosis, and the immune reactions they elicit. Sleep disorders are another common problem in the region and have been associated with infectious diseases such as human African trypanosomiasis and HIV and involve the activation of the immune system. While most headache disorders are due to benign primary headaches, some secondary headaches are caused by infections (meningitis, encephalitis, brain abscess). HIV and neurosyphilis, both common in SSA, can trigger long-standing immune activation in the central nervous system (CNS) potentially resulting in dementia. Despite the progress achieved in preventing diseases from the poliovirus and retroviruses, these microbes may cause motor neuron diseases in SSA. The immune mechanisms involved in these neurological disorders include increased cytokine levels, immune cells infiltration into the CNS, and autoantibodies. This review focuses on the major neurological disorders relevant to Africa and neuroinfections highly prevalent in SSA, describes the interplay between neuroinfections, immune system, neuroinflammation, and neurological disorders, and how understanding this can be exploited for the development of novel diagnostics and therapeutics for improved patient care.

作者

我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。

评论

主要评分

4.8
评分不足

次要评分

新颖性
-
重要性
-
科学严谨性
-
评价这篇论文

推荐

暂无数据
暂无数据