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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Automated Measurement of Cryptococcal Species Polysaccharide Capsule and Cell Body
Published on: January 11, 2018
Difficulty in diagnosing chronic meningitis caused by capsule-deficient Cryptococcus neoformans
Y Sugiura1, M Homma, T Yamamoto
1Department of Neurology, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, 1 Hikarigaoka, Fukushima, 960-1295 Japan. sugiura@fmu.ac.jp
Abstract:
We report a case of chronic meningitis due to capsule-deficient Cryptococcus neoformans which could not be diagnosed by routine morphological and immunological cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination. Repeated CSF examination and culture did not disclose the fungal body, and the cryptococcal antigen tests were always negative. Culture of ventricular fluid showed non-encapsulated cultured cells which were stained positively by indirect immunofluorescence using diluted sera from another patient diagnosed with cryptococcal meningitis. Inoculation of dispersed colonies into mice resulted in encapsulated C neoformans. It is important to suspect capsule-deficient C neoformans when the conventional diagnostic approaches fail to identify the organism or antigens.
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