An Unusual Mechanism of Stroke in Neurobrucellosis: Middle Cerebral Artery Infarction Secondary to Direct Abscess Compression - A Case Report and Literature Review

Introduction

Brucellosis is a zoonotic infection that remains endemic across the Middle East, Central Asia, the Mediterranean basin, and parts of Africa and Latin America. Neurobrucellosis (NB) develops in fewer than 5% of cases and constitutes the most severe systemic complication. Cerebrovascular involvement is uncommon and most often attributed to small-vessel vasculitis, immune-mediated endarteritis, or septic embolization. Ischemic stroke caused by direct mechanical compression of an intracranial artery by a Brucella abscess has not been previously reported.