Successful Treatment of Balamuthia mandrillaris Granulomatous Amebic Encephalitis with Nitroxoline

Abstract

A patient in California, USA, with rare and usually fatal Balamuthia mandrillaris granulomatous amebic encephalitis survived after receiving treatment with a regimen that included the repurposed drug nitroxoline. Nitroxoline, which is a quinolone typically used to treat urinary tract infections, was identified in a screen for drugs with amebicidal activity against Balamuthia.

Keywords

• Infectious encephalitis
• ameba
• ameba drug effects
• nitroxoline
• Balamuthia mandrillaris
• granulomatous amebic encephalitis