OBJECTIVE: To determine whether epilepsy is caused by Taenia solium cysticercosis in The Gambia. METHODS: Case-control study testing samples collected from 210 people with epilepsy and 420 matched controls by sex and age +/-5 years from 69 different places around the country during the period October 2008-March 2009. All serum samples were subjected to an antigen detection ELISA (Ag-ELISA) and electro-immunotransfer blot (EITB), and the seropositives were further CT-scanned to determine the presence of cysticerci in the brain. RESULTS: Although not significantly different (P = 0.668), circulating Taenia antigen was found by Ag-ELISA in 1.4% (95% CI: 0.3-4.1) of people with epilepsy and in 1.9% (95% CI: 0.8-3.7) of the controls. A non-significant (P = 0.4718) odds ratio of association 0.75 (95% CI: 0.13-3.15) between epilepsy and the presence of Taenia antigens was found. All 630 serum samples turned out seronegative by the EITB test. There were no intracranial cysts or cyst-like structures detected among the nine CT-scanned Ag-ELISA seropositives. CONCLUSION: Epilepsy appears not to be caused by cysticercosis in The Gambia.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether epilepsy is caused by Taenia solium cysticercosis in The Gambia. METHODS: Case-control study testing samples collected from 210 people with epilepsy and 420 matched controls by sex and age +/-5 years from 69 different places around the country during the period October 2008-March 2009. All serum samples were subjected to an antigen detection ELISA (Ag-ELISA) and electro-immunotransfer blot (EITB), and the seropositives were further CT-scanned to determine the presence of cysticerci in the brain. RESULTS: Although not significantly different (P = 0.668), circulating Taenia antigen was found by Ag-ELISA in 1.4% (95% CI: 0.3-4.1) of people with epilepsy and in 1.9% (95% CI: 0.8-3.7) of the controls. A non-significant (P = 0.4718) odds ratio of association 0.75 (95% CI: 0.13-3.15) between epilepsy and the presence of Taenia antigens was found. All 630 serum samples turned out seronegative by the EITB test. There were no intracranial cysts or cyst-like structures detected among the nine CT-scanned Ag-ELISA seropositives. CONCLUSION:Epilepsy appears not to be caused by cysticercosis in The Gambia.
Authors: P Nitiéma; H Carabin; S Hounton; N Praet; L D Cowan; R Ganaba; C Kompaoré; Z Tarnagda; P Dorny; A Millogo Journal: Acta Neurol Scand Date: 2012-01-31 Impact factor: 3.209
Authors: Veronika Schmidt; Marie-Claire O'Hara; Bernard Ngowi; Karl-Heinz Herbinger; John Noh; Patricia Procell Wilkins; Vivien Richter; Christian Kositz; William Matuja; Andrea Sylvia Winkler Journal: PLoS Negl Trop Dis Date: 2019-12-06