Modeling Tuberculosis in Lung and Central Nervous System

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Most cases of TB are pulmonary, i.e. the main infection site is in the lung. In this work, we consider pulmonary TB as well as tuberculous meningitis (TBM). The latter is caused by infection of the meninges in the central nervous system (CNS) with Mtb. TBM is the most severe extra-pulmonary manifestation of TB; when left untreated it results in death of the patient. Even if \nthe patient is treated, severe sequelae may result such as spasticity, other handicaps and serious mental problems. \n \nWe start this thesis by presenting the relevant biological background information, after which we proceed to describe and extend an existing agent-based model of the immune response in pulmonary TB. In addition, we introduce a new agent-based model describing the immune response to Mtb in the CNS. We have implemented the models by developing novel software that employs various visualization techniques. After subjecting both models to an experimental evaluation, we conclude by discussing possible future work