INFECTION-ASSOCIATED DEMENTIA

Abstract

Central nervous system infection may decrease cognitive function in broad spectrum, ranged from mild cognitive impairment to infection-associated dementia. Infection-associated is a dementia which is develope concomitantly or lately after central nervous system infection by any microorganism. The epidemiology of infection-associated dementia are still not well-documented. There were lack of literatures which reviewed this topic. Therefore, the informations about epidemiology, etiology, pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis of infection-associated dementia were still minimal. The pathophysiology of infection-associated dementia is still unclear. The roles of central nervous system infection in neurodegeneration, the underlying process of infection-associated dementia, gathered from literatures were still assocoative. One theory suggested that infection-associated dementia occured after inflammatory process, glutamate excitotoxicity, and high burden of free radicals. These process then subsequently raised devastating effect called neurodegeneration. Some study showed that infection-associated dementia were likely developing as the secondary neuronal response to the activation of immune cell in the brain activated by infectious agent. Screening and formal neuropsyichological testing are the most important examination modalities for the diagnosis of infection-associated dementia. The availability of functional radiological examination techniques are usefull for identifying of brain function and visualizing the brain activities in vivo. The recent modality of treatments for infection-associated dementia are insignificantly different with the modality treatments for other dementia. These treatment are consists of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments.

Keywords

• infection-associated dementia
• inflammaatory process
• neurodegeneration
• neuropsychological tests