Adjuvant interferon-gamma treatment in two cases of refractory tuberculosis of the brain

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) of the brain is often refractory and has the highest morbidity and mortality among the mycobacterial infections. A recent report suggests that interferon-gamma may be of help since it can modulate the host inflammatory response against mycobacteria in the brain. Here, we report on a 44-year-old woman with multiple tuberculomas in the brainstem and a 40-year-old man with two large TB abscesses in the brain, both of whom had no response to anti-TB medications for 5 and 7 months, respectively, but with near-complete resolution with adjuvant interferon-gamma therapy (50 mu g/m(2), subcutaneously, three times per week). Our cases show that refractory brain TB in immunocompetent patients can be successfully treated with adjuvant interferon-gamma therapy, without any significant side effects. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.