PMC2732550_01
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain obtained after first drainage.
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When the fungus was isolated, she was treated with amphotericin B and underwent postdrainage magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain, which showed multifocal brain abscesses, including subtentorial and supratentorial lesions (Figure 1).
Ascospores of Neosartorya hiratsukae, CBS 109356 (A) and NHL 3008 (B), and of N. pseudofischeri, NRRL 3496 (C), under scanning electron microscopy. Bars A, B, C = 1 microm.
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On the basis of the above characteristics, and especially taking into account the ascospore ornamentation observed under scanning electron microscopy (Figure 2), we identified the isolate as N. hiratsukae. The isolate was morphologically compared with the type strain of N. hiratsukae (NHL 3008) and was proven to be the same species (Figure 2A,B). N. hiratsukae is the only species of Neosartorya with reticulated ascospores that grow restrictedly on Czapek agar, a characteristic also shown in the case isolate. N. pseudofischeri, the most common Neosartorya species involved in human infections, is easily distinguished because its ascospore walls are ornamented with raised flaps of tissue resembling triangular projections or long ridge lines (Figure 2C).