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Zulu G, Stelzle D, Gabriël S, Trevisan C, Van Damme I, Mubanga C, Schmidt V, Ngowi BJ, Welte TM, Magnussen P, Ruether C, Fleury A, Dorny P, Bottieau E, Phiri IK, Mwape KE, Winkler AS. Neurocysticercosis Prevalence and Characteristics in Communities of Sinda District in Zambia: A Cross-Sectional Study. J Epidemiol Glob Health 2024:10.1007/s44197-024-00271-z. [PMID: 38980629 DOI: 10.1007/s44197-024-00271-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND This study aimed at describing the epidemiology of (neuro)cysticercosis as well as its clinical and radiological characteristics in a Taenia solium endemic district of Zambia. METHODS This was part of a cross-sectional community-based study conducted in Sinda district to evaluate an antibody-detecting T. solium point-of-care (TS POC) test for taeniosis and (neuro)cysticercosis. All TS POC cysticercosis positive (CC+) participants and a subset of the TS POC cysticercosis negative (CC-) received a clinical evaluation and cerebral computed tomography (CT) examination for neurocysticercosis (NCC) diagnosis and staging. RESULTS Of the 1249 participants with a valid TS POC test result, 177 (14%) were TS POC CC+ . Cysticercosis sero-prevalence was estimated to be 20.1% (95% confidence intervals [CI] 14.6-27.0%). In total, 233 participants received a CT examination (151 TS POC CC+ , 82 TS POC CC-). Typical NCC lesions were present in 35/151 (23%) TS POC CC+ , and in 10/82 (12%) TS POC CC- participants. NCC prevalence was 13.5% (95% CI 8.4-21.1%) in the study population and 38.0% (95% CI 5.2-87.4%) among people reporting epileptic seizures. Participants with NCC were more likely to experience epileptic seizures (OR = 3.98, 95% CI 1.34-11.78, p = 0.01) than those without NCC, although only 7/45 (16%) people with NCC ever experienced epileptic seizures. The number of lesions did not differ by TS POC CC status (median: 3 [IQR 1-6] versus 2.5 [IQR 1-5.3], p = 0.64). Eight (23%) of the 35 TS POC CC+ participants with NCC had active stage lesions; in contrast none of the TS POC CC- participants was diagnosed with active NCC. CONCLUSION NCC is common in communities in the Eastern province of Zambia, but a large proportion of people remain asymptomatic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gideon Zulu
- Ministry of Health, Lusaka, Zambia.
- Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
| | - Dominik Stelzle
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Centre for Global Health, School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Sarah Gabriël
- Department of Translational Physiology, Infectiology and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Chiara Trevisan
- Department of Translational Physiology, Infectiology and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Inge Van Damme
- Department of Translational Physiology, Infectiology and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Chishimba Mubanga
- Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
| | - Veronika Schmidt
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Centre for Global Health, School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Bernard J Ngowi
- National Institute for Medical Research, Muhimbili Medical Research Centre, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
- University of Dar es Salaam, Mbeya College of Health and Allied Sciences, Mbeya, Tanzania
| | - Tamara M Welte
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Centre for Global Health, School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Epilepsy Center, University Hospital Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Pascal Magnussen
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Charlotte Ruether
- Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Agnes Fleury
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas-UNAM/Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía/Facultad de Medicina-UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Pierre Dorny
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Emmanuel Bottieau
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Isaac K Phiri
- Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
| | - Kabemba E Mwape
- Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
| | - Andrea S Winkler
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Centre for Global Health, School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Department of Community Medicine and Global Health, Institute of Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Sharma K, Uniyal R, Garg RK, Verma R, Paliwal VK, Malhotra HS, Sharma PK, Kumar N, Pandey S, Rizvi I. Does Calcified Neurocysticercosis Affect Migraine Characteristics and Treatment Responsiveness? A Case-Control Study. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2022; 107:1190-1195. [PMID: 36216323 PMCID: PMC9768286 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.22-0335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, inflammation and free-radical release has been described in the surrounding brain parenchyma of seemingly inert calcified lesions of neurocysticercosis. These free radicals can induce migraine by stimulating calcitonin gene-related peptide release. This stipulated mechanism led us to hypothesize that calcified neurocysticercosis may increase migraine severity. This case-control study included patients (migraine with calcified neurocysticercosis) and control subjects (migraine without calcified neurocysticercosis) in a 1:1 ratio. Headache frequency, visual analog scale (VAS) score, and Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) score were assessed at baseline and at the end of 3 months. To compare treatment responsiveness between patients and control subjects, we treated both groups identically so that difference in treatment would not confound the results. Each group comprised 78 patients. Baseline headache frequency (11.3 ± 3.3 versus 7.9 ± 3.4), VAS score (7.5 ± 1.1 versus 6.0 ± 1.2), and MIDAS score (15 ± 7.6 versus 9.6 ± 4.5) were significantly greater in patients than control subjects. Interestingly, the change from baseline to the end of 3 months in headache frequency (6.0 ± 1.7 versus 2.8 ± 1.4), VAS score (2.6 ± 0.02 versus 1.4 ± 0.01), and MIDAS score (8.3 ± 5.0 versus 3.6 ± 2.0) were significantly greater in patients than control subjects. Our study emphasizes that calcified lesions of neurocysticercosis are not inert, and cause an increase in the frequency and severity of migraine attacks. Interestingly, these patients also showed a better response to treatment with amitriptyline, possibly resulting from its anti-inflammatory action. Further studies are warranted to explore possible inflammatory mechanisms in calcified neurocysticercosis, which influences migraine physiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamini Sharma
- Department of Neurology, King George Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Ravi Uniyal
- Department of Neurology, King George Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Ravindra Kumar Garg
- Department of Neurology, King George Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Rajesh Verma
- Department of Neurology, King George Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Vimal Kumar Paliwal
- Department of Neurology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | | | - Praveen Kumar Sharma
- Department of Neurology, King George Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Neeraj Kumar
- Department of Neurology, King George Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Shweta Pandey
- Department of Neurology, King George Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Imran Rizvi
- Department of Neurology, King George Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
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Coral-Almeida M, Henriquez-Trujillo AR, Asanza S, Erazo C, Paucar M, Calvopiña M. Assessing the burden and spatial distribution of Taenia solium human neurocysticercosis in Ecuador (2013-2017). PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020; 14:e0008384. [PMID: 32511228 PMCID: PMC7302800 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2019] [Revised: 06/18/2020] [Accepted: 05/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Estimating the burden of neglected tropical diseases is a valuable tool to support policymakers in the resource allocation for control and elimination of these diseases. Spatial analysis allows to identify the geographical distribution patterns of infectious and parasitic diseases within a country and allows to assess their possible correlation with other health disorders. Despite being neurocysticercosis (NCC) considered as the most important parasitic disease of the nervous system, few efforts have been addressed to assess the real burden of NCC in endemic countries, to date, there are no studies estimating the burden of NCC in South America. In this study we aimed to use the Disability Adjust Life Years (DALY) and spatial indicators as tools to measure the impact of human neurocysticercosis in Ecuador between 2013 and 2017. Methods Mortality, morbidity and spatial data from the national agency of statistics were used to estimate the burden of disease of NCC during a five-year period (2013–2017). NCC cases and its two main sequelae, epilepsy and migraine headache, were stratified by sex and age group to calculate the DALY associated to NCC using the DALY package in R. SATSCAN software was used to assess spatial clusters of NCC and its possible neurological sequelae as epilepsy, status epilepticus, migraine and hydrocephalus. Principal findings The burden of human neurocysticercosis ranged from 56201 [95% CI 29961–89333] to 59612 [95% CI 31854–94689] DALY per year, corresponding to 3.54 to 3.56 DALY per 1000 population. Average yearly incidence rates per 10 000 person-years were 0.23 [95% CI 0.21–0.26] for NCC, 4.89 [95% CI 4.78–5.00] for epilepsy, 0.130 [95% CI 0.11–0.15] for status epilepticus, 0.62 [95% CI 0.58–0.66] for migraine headache, and 1.02 [95% CI 0.98–1.07] for hydrocephalus. Most important significant spatial clusters (p<0.0001) were located in the southern region of the highlands of the country. Conclusion/Significance This is the first study in South America to calculate estimates for burden of NCC and one of the few using spatial analysis to show the importance of sequelae other than epilepsy that play an important role in the impact of human neurocysticercosis. Taenia solium-neurocysticercosis (NCC) is a neglected parasite infection in humans causing a variety of neurological sequelae like epilepsy, and chronic headache. The purpose of this study was to estimate the burden of NCC in Ecuador using official nation-wide databases from the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC) for the period of 2013–2017, and to assess for spatial clusters of four neurological disorders associated with NCC. The burden of NCC measured in Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY) was estimated in 3.54 to 3.56 DALY per 1000 population. Several significant spatial clusters for augmented risk of disease were identified along the country for NCC and its sequelae, most of which converged in the southern Sierra provinces. Our study suggests a possible spatial correlation between the presence of NCC cases and a higher prevalence of neurological conditions like epilepsy, status epilepticus, migraine, and hydrocephalus in several ‘hot spots’ of the southern provinces of Ecuador, indicating possible areas where the application of preventive measures is necessary to reduce cysticercosis transmission rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Coral-Almeida
- One Health Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito, Ecuador
- * E-mail:
| | | | - Sofia Asanza
- One Health Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Celia Erazo
- One Health Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Michelle Paucar
- One Health Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Manuel Calvopiña
- One Health Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito, Ecuador
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