[Inflammatory and infectious manifestations of the nervous system]

The Central Nervous System is the site of a wide variety of inflammatory and infectious diseases. Some disease entities have been in the focus of interest in recent years and progress has been achieved in our understanding of some chosen domains. We will review recent progress in our knowledge about transmissible spongiformes encephalopathies and AIDS-associated lesions, and briefly discuss cerebral vasculitis, granulomatous diseases and the most frequent infections by parasites.