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Ursini T, Di Giacomo R, Caldrer S, Angheben A, Zammarchi L, Filipponi S, Pizio NR, Bisoffi Z, Buonfrate D. Neurocysticercosis-related seizures in the post-partum period: two cases and a review of the literature. THE LANCET. INFECTIOUS DISEASES 2020; 20:e204-e214. [PMID: 32569624 DOI: 10.1016/s1473-3099(20)30240-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2020] [Revised: 03/13/2020] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Neurocysticercosis, the infection of the CNS with larval cysts of Taenia solium, is a leading cause of seizures in low-income countries. The clinical presentation of neurocysticercosis is variable and depends on the number, size, and location of cysticerci, and on the immune response of the host. In most patients, the affected site is the brain parenchyma, where cysts can precipitate seizures. Neurocysticercosis has seldom been described in pregnant women. In this Grand Round, we report two cases of pregnant women who immigrated to Italy from Bolivia and Ecuador, and who developed seizures in the early post-partum period, due to calcified parenchymal neurocysticercosis lesions. We discuss the complex interactions between neurocysticercosis and the immune system in pregnancy and the post-partum period. Building on this scenario, we propose practices for the management of neurocysticercosis in pregnancy and the post-partum period, highlighting important gaps in the literature that should be addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamara Ursini
- Department of Infectious - Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar, Italy.
| | - Roberta Di Giacomo
- Epilepsy Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Sara Caldrer
- Department of Infectious - Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar, Italy
| | - Andrea Angheben
- Department of Infectious - Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Zammarchi
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy; Referral Centre for Tropical Diseases of Tuscany, Infectious and Tropical Diseases Unit, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy
| | - Stefania Filipponi
- Stroke Unit, Department of Neurological Disorders, Santa Chiara Hospital, Trento, Italy
| | | | - Zeno Bisoffi
- Department of Infectious - Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar, Italy; Department of Diagnostics and Public Health, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Dora Buonfrate
- Department of Infectious - Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar, Italy
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Pappala BCS, Indugula JP, Talabhatula SK, Kolli RS, Shrivastava AK, Sahu PS. Diagnosis of neurocysticercosis among patients with seizures in northern coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, India. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.apjtb.2016.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
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Mishra PK, Li Q, Munoz LE, Mares CA, Morris EG, Teale JM, Cardona AE. Reduced Leukocyte Infiltration in Absence of Eosinophils Correlates with Decreased Tissue Damage and Disease Susceptibility in ΔdblGATA Mice during Murine Neurocysticercosis. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2016; 10:e0004787. [PMID: 27332553 PMCID: PMC4917226 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2015] [Accepted: 05/28/2016] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is one of the most common helminth parasitic diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) and the leading cause of acquired epilepsy worldwide. NCC is caused by the presence of the metacestode larvae of the tapeworm Taenia solium within brain tissues. NCC patients exhibit a long asymptomatic phase followed by a phase of symptoms including increased intra-cranial pressure and seizures. While the asymptomatic phase is attributed to the immunosuppressive capabilities of viable T. solium parasites, release of antigens by dying organisms induce strong immune responses and associated symptoms. Previous studies in T. solium-infected pigs have shown that the inflammatory response consists of various leukocyte populations including eosinophils, macrophages, and T cells among others. Because the role of eosinophils within the brain has not been investigated during NCC, we examined parasite burden, disease susceptibility and the composition of the inflammatory reaction in the brains of infected wild type (WT) and eosinophil-deficient mice (ΔdblGATA) using a murine model of NCC in which mice were infected intracranially with Mesocestoides corti, a cestode parasite related to T. solium. In WT mice, we observed a time-dependent induction of eosinophil recruitment in infected mice, contrasting with an overall reduced leukocyte infiltration in ΔdblGATA brains. Although, ΔdblGATA mice exhibited an increased parasite burden, reduced tissue damage and less disease susceptibility was observed when compared to infected WT mice. Cellular infiltrates in infected ΔdblGATA mice were comprised of more mast cells, and αβ T cells, which correlated with an abundant CD8+ T cell response and reduced CD4+ Th1 and Th2 responses. Thus, our data suggest that enhanced inflammatory response in WT mice appears detrimental and associates with increased disease susceptibility, despite the reduced parasite burden in the CNS. Overall reduced leukocyte infiltration due to absence of eosinophils correlates with attenuated tissue damage and longer survival of ΔdblGATA mice. Therefore, our study suggests that approaches to clear NCC will require strategies to tightly control the host immune response while eradicating the parasite with minimal damage to brain tissue. Eosinophils are known to mediate a protective response against several parasitic infections. This is largely accomplished by eosinophil degranulation (direct killing) and modulating effective adaptive immune responses. Consequently, eosinophils can also contribute to host pathology via a bystander effect. However, the outcome of infection varies depending upon the parasite species. In the case of neurocysticercosis (NCC), the role of eosinophils in disease progression has not been investigated despite the known eosinophilic response in patients. NCC is one of the most common parasitic diseases of the brain which is caused by the metacestode (larva) of the tapeworm Taenia solium. To determine the role of eosinophils in NCC disease outcome, we used a murine model of NCC in which wildtype (WT) or eosinophil deficient mice (ΔdblGATA) were infected intracranially with Mesocestoides corti, a cestode parasite related to T. solium. Our data show that murine NCC is characterized by a robust eosinophil response that correlates with lower parasite burden in the brain. Comparison of T cell response reveals a mixed Th1/Th2 in the WT brain, and ΔdblGATA mice showed a significant decrease in both population but in particular in the Th2 response. In addition, the strong eosinophil reaction observed in WT brains correlates with exacerbated pathology and increased morbidity. Thus, our study suggest that eosinophils act as a double-edged sword playing a role in controlling the infection but worsening the disease outcome by contributing to host pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pramod K. Mishra
- Department of Biology, South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, United States of America
- * E-mail: (PKM); (AEC)
| | - Qun Li
- Department of Biology, South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, United States of America
| | - Luis E. Munoz
- Department of Biology, South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, United States of America
| | - Chris A. Mares
- Department of Biology, South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth G. Morris
- Department of Biology, South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, United States of America
| | - Judy M. Teale
- Department of Biology, South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, United States of America
| | - Astrid E. Cardona
- Department of Biology, South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, United States of America
- * E-mail: (PKM); (AEC)
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Sahu PS, Patro S, Jena PK, Swain SK, Das BK. Imaging and Serological-Evidence of Neurocysticercosis Among Patients with Seizures in Odisha, an Unexplored Eastern Coastal Province in India. J Clin Diagn Res 2015; 9:DC06-10. [PMID: 26155476 DOI: 10.7860/jcdr/2015/12609.5967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2014] [Accepted: 03/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Neurocysticercosis being a potential to human transmitted disease, is the major cause of seizures and a public health problem in tropical countries. Though India is known to be highly endemic, there are many provinces where reports are still unavailable thereby underestimating its actual burden. MATERIALS AND METHODS Anti-Cysticercus IgG antibodies in sera from cases presenting with seizures were screened by ELISA in a preliminary study in Odisha state which is a province in Eastern coastal India that was never explored before. Patients presenting with recent onset of seizures within age group 5 to 50 years, either local residents of Odisha or inhabitants from other parts of the country living for at least one year period in the study area were included. RESULTS The present study showed 43.75% cases with seizures to be confirmed neurocysticercosis (NCC) based on serology and brain imaging. However, statistically no association was established between anti-Cysticercus antibody detection and radio imaging characteristics (location, number of lesions, and stage). CONCLUSION This is the first study in Odisha presenting a series of cases with serological evidence of exposure to the parasite along with imaging characteristics which was consistent with NCC. It is recommended that NCC must be considered for a differential diagnosis in each active epilepsy case irrespective of prior prevalence information in all unexplored provinces in India and other endemic regions; also a compulsory reporting is warranted in order to aid in quantifying its actual burden.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priyadarshi Soumyaranjan Sahu
- Assistant Professor, Department of Immunology Laboratory, School of Biotechnology, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. Division of Pathology, School of Medicine, International Medical University , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Shubhransu Patro
- Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences, KIIT University , Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Payod Kumar Jena
- Consultant Neurologist, Department of Neurology, Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences, KIIT University , Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Santosh Kumar Swain
- Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, SCB Medical College and Hospital , Cuttack, Odisha, India
| | - Bidyut Kumar Das
- Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, SCB Medical College and Hospital , Cuttack, Odisha, India
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Mahanty S, Orrego MA, Mayta H, Marzal M, Cangalaya C, Paredes A, Gonzales-Gustavson E, Arroyo G, Gonzalez AE, Guerra-Giraldez C, García HH, Nash TE. Post-treatment vascular leakage and inflammatory responses around brain cysts in porcine neurocysticercosis. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2015; 9:e0003577. [PMID: 25774662 PMCID: PMC4361613 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0003577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2014] [Accepted: 01/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Cysticidal treatment of neurocysticercosis, an infection of humans and pig brains with Taenia solium, results in an early inflammatory response directed to cysts causing seizures and focal neurological manifestations. Treatment-induced pericystic inflammation and its association with blood brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction, as determined by Evans blue (EB) extravasation, was studied in infected untreated and anthelmintic-treated pigs. We compared the magnitude and extent of the pericystic inflammation, presence of EB-stained capsules, the level of damage to the parasite, expression of genes for proinflammatory and regulatory cytokines, chemokines, and tissue remodeling by quantitative PCR assays between treated and untreated infected pigs and between EB-stained (blue) and non stained (clear) cysts. Inflammatory scores were higher in pericystic tissues from EB-stained cysts compared to clear cysts from untreated pigs and also from anthelmintic-treated pigs 48 hr and 120 hr after treatment. The degree of inflammation correlated with the severity of cyst wall damage and both increased significantly at 120 hours. Expression levels of the proinflammatory genes for IL-6, IFN-γ, TNF-α were higher in EB-stained cysts compared to clear cysts and unaffected brain tissues, and were generally highest at 120 hr. Additionally, expression of some markers of immunoregulatory activity (IL-10, IL-2Rα) were decreased in EB-stained capsules. An increase in other markers for regulatory T cells (CTLA4, FoxP3) was found, as well as significant increases in expression of two metalloproteases, MMP1 and MMP2 at 48 hr and 120 hr post-treatment. We conclude that the increase in severity of the inflammation caused by treatment is accompanied by both a proinflammatory and a complex regulatory response, largely limited to pericystic tissues with compromised vascular integrity. Because treatment induced inflammation occurs in porcine NCC similar to that in human cases, this model can be used to investigate mechanisms involved in host damaging inflammatory responses and agents or modalities that may control damaging post treatment inflammation. Neurocysticercosis is caused by infection of the brain with the larval (cyst) stage of the tape worm Taenia solium in humans and pigs. Antiparasitic drug treatment is compromised by worsening of neurological symptoms during therapy due to reactive inflammation triggered by the dying parasite. The immune mechanisms that cause this inflammation are poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the nature of inflammation after treatment in pigs naturally infected with T. solium cysts. Evans blue dye injected into infected pigs marks areas in the brain where the normally impermeable capillaries have become more permeable, allowing damaging cells and molecules to leak out into the brain. By microscopy and measurement of gene expression for inflammation-inducing immune mediators, we show that inflammation in the brain tissues around cysts is more severe with increased vessel leakage. Furthermore, the levels of these mediators increased after antiparasitic drug treatment. A significant implication of these findings is that it may be possible to inhibit the inflammation around parasites using drugs or biologics that inhibit these inflammatory pathways and, thereby, reduce local brain damage during treatment. These observations may also be applicable to other inflammatory conditions that affect the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siddhartha Mahanty
- Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
- Laboratory of Immunopathology, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
- * E-mail:
| | - Miguel Angel Orrego
- Laboratory of Immunopathology, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | - Holger Mayta
- Facultad de Ciencias y Filosofía, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | - Miguel Marzal
- Laboratory of Immunopathology, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | - Carla Cangalaya
- Laboratory of Immunopathology, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | - Adriana Paredes
- Laboratory of Immunopathology, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | | | - Gianfranco Arroyo
- Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru
| | - Armando E. Gonzalez
- Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru
| | - Cristina Guerra-Giraldez
- Laboratory of Immunopathology, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
- Facultad de Ciencias y Filosofía, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | - Hector H. García
- Laboratory of Immunopathology, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
- Facultad de Ciencias y Filosofía, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
- Cysticercosis Unit, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurologicas, Lima, Peru
| | - Theodore E. Nash
- Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
- Laboratory of Immunopathology, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
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Garcia HH, Rodriguez S, Friedland JS. Immunology of Taenia solium taeniasis and human cysticercosis. Parasite Immunol 2014; 36:388-96. [PMID: 24962350 DOI: 10.1111/pim.12126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2013] [Accepted: 06/18/2014] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The life cycle of Taenia solium, the pork tapeworm, is continuously closed in many rural settings in developing countries when free roaming pigs ingest human stools containing T. solium eggs and develop cysticercosis, and humans ingest pork infected with cystic larvae and develop intestinal taeniasis, or may also accidentally acquire cysticercosis by faecal-oral contamination. Cysticercosis of the human nervous system, neurocysticercosis, is a major cause of seizures and other neurological morbidity in most of the world. The dynamics of exposure, infection and disease as well as the location of parasites result in a complex interaction which involves immune evasion mechanisms and involutive or progressive disease along time. Moreover, existing data are limited by the relative lack of animal models. This manuscript revises the available information on the immunology of human taeniasis and cysticercosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- H H Garcia
- Department of Microbiology, School of Sciences and Center for Global Health - Tumbes, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru; Cysticercosis Unit, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurologicas, Lima, Peru
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Abstract
AbstractCerebral involvement in parasitoses is an important clinical manifestation of most of the human parasitoses. Parasites that have been described to affect the central nervous system (CNS), either as the dominant or as a collateral feature, include cestodes (Taenia solium (neurocysticerciasis), Echinococcus granulosus (cerebral cystic echinococcosis), E. multilocularis (cerebral alveolar echinococcosis), Spirometra mansoni (neurosparganosis)), nematodes (Toxocara canis and T. cati (neurotoxocariasis), Trichinella spiralis (neurotrichinelliasis), Angiostrongylus cantonensis and A. costaricensis (neuroangiostrongyliasis), Gnathostoma spinigerum (gnathostomiasis)), trematodes (Schistosoma mansoni (cerebral bilharziosis), Paragonimus westermani (neuroparagonimiasis)), or protozoa (Toxoplasma gondii (neurotoxoplasmosis), Acanthamoeba spp. or Balamuthia mandrillaris (granulomatous amoebic encephalitis), Naegleria (primary amoebic meningo-encephalitis), Entamoeba histolytica (brain abscess), Plasmodium falciparum (cerebral malaria), Trypanosoma brucei gambiense/rhodesiense (sleeping sickness) or Trypanosoma cruzi (cerebral Chagas disease)). Adults or larvae of helminths or protozoa enter the CNS and cause meningitis, encephalitis, ventriculitis, myelitis, ischaemic stroke, bleeding, venous thrombosis or cerebral abscess, clinically manifesting as headache, epilepsy, weakness, cognitive decline, impaired consciousness, confusion, coma or focal neurological deficits. Diagnosis of cerebral parasitoses is dependent on the causative agent. Available diagnostic tools include clinical presentation, blood tests (eosinophilia, plasmodia in blood smear, antibodies against the parasite), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) investigations, imaging findings and occasionally cerebral biopsy. Treatment relies on drugs and sometimes surgery. Outcome of cerebral parasitoses is highly variable, depending on the effect of drugs, whether they are self-limiting (e.g. Angiostrongylus costaricensis) or whether they remain undetected or asymptomatic, like 25% of neurocysticerciasis cases.
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