[Infections with cutaneous and nervous system alterations]

We review and update the clinical and diagnostic aspects in the most representative neurocutaneous infections, emphasizing the features of interdisciplinary interest.

Human skin is the primary host barrier against infection and his importance is critical in the immunocompromised population. The genetic hability of pathogen micro-organisms to bind the adhesion molecules of cellular membranes defines the anatomic affinity of each species. Cutaneous involvement can be crucial for diagnosis in infectious diseases. The characteristics of the elemental lesions and the accessible cytology, bacteriology and histopathology procedures, usually leads to a specific diagnosis. We highlight the cutaneous manifestations of the acute and subacute bacterial meningitides. We review the clinico-pathologic characteristics of the meningoencephalitidis associated to the viral exanthems. We describe the chronic bacterial entities with prominent cutaneous and neural affectation as lepra, syphilis and borreliosis, as well as the numerous clinical forms of presentation of herpesvirus hominis and varicellazoster. Finally, we stand out the transcendency of cutaneous findings in the HIV set.

The appropriate interpretation of the infectious cutaneous semiology, supplemented with exams of direct samples, allow frequently to reach an ethiologic or orientated diagnosis, in a rapid, economic and non-invasive way. This information must be carefully incorporated to the study of high-morbidity infections, as there that concerns to the nervous system.