Introduction

Bacterial meningitis may be caused by a number of bacterial species, as well as various parasitic organisms and fungi. Each of these is typically more fatal and damaging than aseptic (viral) meningitis, with greater amounts of tissue dammage, inflammation, and often, mortality. Many strategies are utilized by the various microorganisms to gain access to the brain from the blood-brain barrier including enzymes, activation of the immune system, and receptor attachment.

Laboratories Investigating Bacterial Meningitis & the Role of the Blood Brain Barrier

• Dr. Karl frei's Lab at the Neuroscience Center Zurich
  
• Dr. Hans-Walter Pfister in the Department of Neurology at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
  
• Dr. Victor Nizet's lab at the University of California San Diego
  
• The Pathogenesis of Bacterial Infections group with the University of Virginia Health System
  
• Dr. Kwang Sik Kim's lab at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine