What is it?

Tuberculosis of meninges and CNS ,is the most dangerous extrapulmonary manifestation of tuberculosis, and carries a high morbidity and mortality rate. It is caused by an infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It includes meningitis, tuberculoma, and spinal arachnoiditis.If left untreated tuberculosis meningitis can lead to seizures, hydrocephalus, deafness, mental retardation, hemiparesis and other complications. Tuberculoma lesions may occur in the brain, spinal cord, subarachnoid, subdural, or epidural space; they may be solitary but are most often multiple and accompanied by surrounding edema . Tuberculous abscesses tend to be larger than tuberculomas, often larger than 3 cm in diameter. Immunosuppression, due to either human immunodeficiency virus infection or solid organ transplantation, increases susceptibility for acquiring or reactivating CNS TB.