Toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection, may affect different parts of the brain and therefore cause different symptoms, ranging from motor weakness and sensory loss to seizures. Common presenting symptoms of toxoplasmosis include fever and constant headache. While the toxoplasma organism cannot be eliminated, toxoplasmosis symptoms can be controlled through drug treatment. Cryptococcal meningitis, a fungal infection, typically presents with fever and severe headache. Mental status changes range from mild behavioral and personality changes to severe memory loss and confusion.
Antifungal drugs can clear infection.
Soon after infection, clients require major assistance with tasks of daily living and often become bed-bound. Death usually results within several months. There are encouraging reports of a small number of clients who stabilize in response to experimental treatments. Lymphoma, a cancer originating in the lymphatic system, can invade the brain and cause cognitive impairment, behavioral and personality changes, and neurologic deficits. Radiation therapy is the most effective form of treatment for brain lymphoma.