Soap bubble appearance in brain magnetic resonance imaging: cryptococcal meningoencephalitis

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Marcelo Adriano da Cunha e Silva Vieira, Carlos Henrique Nery Costa, Jose Carlos Castelo Branco Ribeiro, Lucidio Portella Nunes-Filho, Marcos Glebson Gomes Rabelo, Walfrido Salmito de Almeida-Neto
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2013
• Subjects: Cryptococcosis; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Meningoencephalitis; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic; Virchow
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0142-2013; https://doaj.org/article/31c68766d6c4434cbfd778e5f77c2155

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.