Multiple Intracranial Nocardia brevicatena Abscesses in a Patient with a Previous History of Tuberculosis: A Case Report

Zhaoyang Li, Yuheng Zhang, Xiaoming Zhang, Hongchun Li, Xue Gong, Qian Zhang, Jing Xu, Xiaofeng Cheng, Jinghuan Wang, Tao Wang, Qiuxin Zhang, Qingwu Yang, Chenhao Zhao · 2026

Read Multiple Intracranial Nocardia brevicatena Abscesses in a Patient with a Previous History of Tuberculosis: A Case Report by Zhaoyang Li, Yuheng Zhang, Xiaoming Zhang, Hongchun Li, Xue Gong, Qian Zhang, Jing Xu, Xiaofeng Cheng, Jinghuan Wang, Tao Wang, Qiuxin Zhang, Qingwu Yang, Chenhao Zhao (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13092237.txt.

Description

Zhaoyang Li and co-authors report a brain infection that wore the mask of tuberculosis in a man who had beaten TB before, in a 2026 case report. The true culprit was Nocardia brevicatena, a rare germ whose brain abscesses mimic TB closely. The 55-year-old came in with dizziness, headache, and an unsteady walk. Scans showed brain nodules ringed by swelling, a picture that fit his past.

Anti-TB drugs were tried first and failed. Gene sequencing of his samples named the Nocardia, while TB tests came back empty. A three-drug anti-Nocardia course eased his symptoms and shrank the scans. A pause in treatment let the illness flare, and resuming cured it within a week of fresh gains. After seven months he stood fully recovered with a clean scan. The authors urge sequencing early when a TB past may mislead the eye.

Catalog record

CREATORZhaoyang Li, Yuheng Zhang, Xiaoming Zhang, Hongchun Li, Xue Gong, Qian Zhang, Jing Xu, Xiaofeng Cheng, Jinghuan Wang, Tao Wang, Qiuxin Zhang, Qingwu Yang, Chenhao Zhao
YEAR2026
COLLECTIONPAPERS
FORMATTXT
FILE SIZE18 KB
VERSION1.0
LICENSECC BY 4.0
RIGHTSCC BY
SOURCEEurope PMC

Source: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13092237

Browse the full library · About the Tower of Babel