Kriti Thapa1,2,3, Matthew L Romo1,2,4, Arturo Carpio5,6, Denise Leslie7, Howard Andrews8, W Allen Hauser6,9, Elizabeth A Kelvin1,2,4. 1. Epidemiology & Biostatistics Program, School of Urban Public Health at Hunter College, City University of New York, 2180 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10035, USA. 2. CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, 55 West 125 th Street, New York, NY 10027, USA. 3. University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14642, USA. 4. CUNY Institute for Implementation Science in Population Health, City University of New York, 55 West 125 th Street, New York, New York 10027, USA. 5. School of Medicine, University of Cuenca, PO Box 0101-719, Cuenca, Ecuador. 6. Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, 622 West 168th Street, New York, New York 10032, USA. 7. MRI Diagnostics of Westchester, 503 Grasslands Road, Suite 100, Valhalla, New York 10595, USA. 8. Department of Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 West 168th Street, New York, New York 10032, USA. 9. Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
Abstract
Background: There is little information about the impact of anthelminthic treatment on clinical symptoms other than seizures in neurocysticercosis (NC). We investigated the effect of albendazole on non-seizure symptoms experienced by patients with NC. Methods: Data are from a randomized controlled trial comparing albendazole plus prednisone with placebo plus prednisone for treatment of NC among 173 patients with active or transitional NC cysts and new-onset symptoms. We performed negative binomial regression to examine the number of follow-up visits when a symptom was reported, logistic regression to examine the probability of experiencing the symptom and Cox proportional hazards models to examine the time to first reporting the symptom. Results: Eighty-five percent of patients reported at least one non-seizure symptom at baseline. Those treated with albendazole had significantly lower odds of memory loss and/or confusion during months 1-24 (odds ratio [OR] 0.42, p=0.037) and significantly increased odds of anxiety and/or depression during months 1-12 (OR 1.87, p=0.049). No treatment difference existed in experiencing symptoms in general or in experiencing headaches, limb weakness or gait disturbances, vomiting, nausea and/or stomach pain or visual disturbances over the follow-up period. Conclusions: While the prevalence of non-seizure symptoms was high, albendazole treatment was associated with only two significant differences in the non-seizure symptoms over follow-up. Further research is needed to identify strategies to reduce the long-term symptom burden in patients with NC.
RCT Entities:
Background: There is little information about the impact of anthelminthic treatment on clinical symptoms other than seizures in neurocysticercosis (NC). We investigated the effect of albendazole on non-seizure symptoms experienced by patients with NC. Methods: Data are from a randomized controlled trial comparing albendazole plus prednisone with placebo plus prednisone for treatment of NC among 173 patients with active or transitional NC cysts and new-onset symptoms. We performed negative binomial regression to examine the number of follow-up visits when a symptom was reported, logistic regression to examine the probability of experiencing the symptom and Cox proportional hazards models to examine the time to first reporting the symptom. Results: Eighty-five percent of patients reported at least one non-seizure symptom at baseline. Those treated with albendazole had significantly lower odds of memory loss and/or confusion during months 1-24 (odds ratio [OR] 0.42, p=0.037) and significantly increased odds of anxiety and/or depression during months 1-12 (OR 1.87, p=0.049). No treatment difference existed in experiencing symptoms in general or in experiencing headaches, limb weakness or gait disturbances, vomiting, nausea and/or stomach pain or visual disturbances over the follow-up period. Conclusions: While the prevalence of non-seizure symptoms was high, albendazole treatment was associated with only two significant differences in the non-seizure symptoms over follow-up. Further research is needed to identify strategies to reduce the long-term symptom burden in patients with NC.
Authors: E Sciutto; G Fragoso; A Fleury; J P Laclette; J Sotelo; A Aluja; L Vargas; C Larralde Journal: Microbes Infect Date: 2000-12 Impact factor: 2.700
Authors: Elizabeth A Kelvin; Arturo Carpio; Emilia Bagiella; Denise Leslie; Pietro Leon; Howard Andrews; W Allen Hauser Journal: Seizure Date: 2010-12-08 Impact factor: 3.184
Authors: Arturo Carpio; Mindy Chang; Hongbin Zhang; Matthew L Romo; Alex Jaramillo; W Allen Hauser; Elizabeth A Kelvin Journal: Epilepsia Date: 2019-07-29 Impact factor: 5.864
Authors: Gabrielle Bonnet; Francesco Pizzitutti; Eloy A Gonzales-Gustavson; Sarah Gabriël; William K Pan; Hector H Garcia; Javier A Bustos; Percy Vilchez; Seth E O'Neal Journal: PLoS Comput Biol Date: 2022-05-19 Impact factor: 4.779