Soap bubble appearance in brain magnetic resonance imaging: cryptococcal meningoencephalitis

Rev Soc Bras Med Trop. 2013 Sep-Oct;46(5):658-9. doi: 10.1590/0037-8682-0142-2013.

Abstract

Although cryptococcal infections begin in the lungs, meningoencephalitis is the most frequently encountered manifestation of cryptococcosis among individuals with advanced immunosuppression. As the infection progresses along the Virchow-Robin spaces, these structures may become dilated with mucoid material produced by the capsule of the organism. We report a case of a 24-year-old man with cryptococcal meningoencephalitis in which magnetic resonance imaging showed clusters of gelatinous pseudocysts in the periventricular white matter, basal ganglia, mammillary bodies, midbrain peduncles and nucleus dentatus with a soap bubble appearance.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Artifacts
  • Cryptococcosis / diagnosis*
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging*
  • Male
  • Meningoencephalitis / diagnosis*
  • Meningoencephalitis / microbiology
  • Young Adult