scholarly journals Neurocysticercosis: A Review

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar H. Del Brutto
Keyword(s):  
Taenia Solium ◽  
Oral Route ◽  
Brain Parenchyma ◽  
Intermediate Hosts ◽  
Control Programs ◽  
Immunological Tests ◽  
Helminthic Infection ◽  
Contaminated Food ◽  
Adult Tapeworm ◽  
Acquired Epilepsy

Neuroysticercosis is the most common helminthic infection of the nervous system, and a leading cause of acquired epilepsy worldwide. The disease occurs when humans become intermediate hosts ofTaenia soliumby ingesting its eggs from contaminated food or, most often, directly from a taenia carrier by the fecal-to-oral route. Cysticerci may be located in brain parenchyma, subarachnoid space, ventricular system, or spinal cord, causing pathological changes that are responsible for the pleomorphism of neurocysticercosis. Seizures are the most common clinical manifestation, but many patients present with focal deficits, intracranial hypertension, or cognitive decline. Accurate diagnosis of neurocysticercosis is possible after interpretation of clinical data together with findings of neuroimaging studies and results of immunological tests. The introduction of cysticidal drugs have changed the prognosis of most patients with neurocysticercosis. These drugs have shown to reduce the burden of infection in the brain and to improve the clinical course of the disease in most patients. Further efforts should be directed to eradicate the disease through the implementation of control programs against all the interrelated steps in the life cycle ofT. solium, including human carriers of the adult tapeworm, infected pigs, and eggs in the environment.

scholarly journals Multiple Parenchymal Neurocysticercosis: A Case Report

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
I KC ◽  
KJ Rana ◽  
R Joshi ◽  
A Mandal ◽  
S Bhhatarai
Keyword(s):  
Rare Case ◽  
Taenia Solium ◽  
Parasitic Infection ◽  
Brain Parenchyma ◽  
Larval Form ◽  
Cns Involvement ◽  
Huge Number ◽  
Adult Tapeworm ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Multiple Cysts

Cysticercosis is a parasitic infection with CNS involvement in 60-90% of infested patients. The larval form of pork intestinal tapeworm (Taenia solium) is responsible for cysticercosis. Humans are the definitive hosts and usually harbor the adult tapeworm in small intestine as an asymptomatic infestation. Neurocysticercosis most commonly affects the brain parenchyma. Solitary and multiple cysts in brain parencyma is common but we came across a 24 year old lady patient with huge number of cysts which is relatively rare. The aim of this article is to report the rare case. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/mjsbh.v10i1.6450 Medical Journal of Shree Birendra Hospital Jan-June 2011 10(1) 44-45

Parasites and Worms

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Serafino Wani
Keyword(s):  
Fasciola Hepatica ◽  
Clonorchis Sinensis ◽  
Taenia Solium ◽  
Oral Route ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Blood Flukes ◽  
Blood Sucking ◽  
Lung Fluke ◽  
Contaminated Food ◽  
Terrestrial Environments

A parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host and gets its food from or at the expense of its host. Worms or helminths either live as parasites or free of a host in aquatic and terrestrial environments. Parasites and worms are found worldwide but mainly in the tropics. It is estimated that 20% of immigrants from endemic countries may have helminthic infections at their arrival to the UK. These people could be asymptomatic, but tend to present with unexplained symptoms, especially gastrointestinal in nature or eosinophilia. Travellers to endemic countries tend to be newly infected and have greater immune response and pronounced eosinophilia in some but not all parasitic infections. Parasites that can cause disease in humans fall under three classes: protozoa, helminths, and Ectoparasites Protozoa are microscopic, one- celled organisms that can be free living or parasitic in nature. Transmission of protozoa that live in a human’s intestine to another human typically occurs through a faeco-oral route (for example, contaminated food or water, or person- to-person contact). Protozoa that live in the blood or tissue of humans are transmitted to other humans by an arthropod vector (for example, through the bite of a mosquito or sand fly). Helminths are large, multicellular organisms that are generally visible to the naked eye in their adult stages. Like protozoa, helminths can be either free living or parasitic. There are three main groups of helminths that parasitize humans: cestodes, trematodes, and nematodes. These are flat worms that comprise Echinococcus species: intestinal tapeworms and neurocysticercosis (Taenia solium) These are leaf- shaped, and they vary in length from a few millimetres to 8 cm. They include: ■ Liver fluke: Clonorchis sinensis, Fasciola hepatica ■ Intestinal fluke: Fasciola buski, Heterophyes heterophyes, ■ Lung fluke: Paragonimus westernmani ■ Blood flukes: Schistosoma species These are cylindrical in structure. Blood- sucking arthropods such as mosquitoes are considered as ectoparasites because they depend on blood meal for their survival. Narrowly speaking, ectoparasites include organisms like ticks, fleas, lice, and mites (scabies) that attach or burrow into the skin and remain there for relatively long periods of time (e.g. weeks to months).

Cysticercosis

2020 ◽  
pp. 1533-1539
Author(s):  
Hector H. Garcia ◽  
Robert H. Gilman
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Late Onset ◽  
Taenia Solium ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Cysticercus Cellulosae ◽  
Helminthic Infection ◽  
Hypertension Diagnosis ◽  
Adult Tapeworm ◽  
Undercooked Pork

Cysticercosis, infection by larvae of the pork tapeworm Taenia solium, is the most common helminthic infection of the human central nervous system. It accounts for up to 30% of all seizures and epilepsy in endemic countries, and travel and immigration now lead to its more frequent presentation in industrialized countries. Ingestion of raw or undercooked pork can lead to infection with the T. solium cysticercus, formerly known as ‘Cysticercus cellulosae’, which is an encysted immature tapeworm. Once attached to the person’s small intestine, the head, or scolex, evaginates from the cysticercus, anchors in the intestinal mucosa and develops segments (proglottids) to become an adult tapeworm. Only by ingesting T. solium ova can humans develop cysticercosis. The commonest syndromes are late-onset epilepsy or intracranial hypertension. Diagnosis is based on brain imaging studies (CT or MRI) and supported by highly specific serology.

Taenia solium Neurocysticercosis1

1994 ◽  
Vol 57 (9) ◽  
pp. 831-844 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAMES L. SMITH
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Taenia Solium ◽  
Disease Process ◽  
The United States ◽  
Neurological Dysfunction ◽  
Common Disease ◽  
Intermediate Hosts ◽  
Sewage Disposal ◽  
Contaminated Food

After many years as a relatively rare neurological disorder, Taenia solium (pork tapeworm) neurocysticercosis is now seen more frequently in patients in the United States. Humans are the definitive and only hosts of the tapeworm stage. The larval stage develops in the pig, the intermediate host, following ingestion of tapeworm eggs excreted in the feces of the tapeworm carrier. The larvae invade most tissues of the pig giving rise to a disease termed cysticercosis. When humans ingest raw or undercooked meat from cysticercotic pigs, taeniasis (tapeworm) results. Humans can also act as intermediate hosts if they ingest T. solium eggs present in contaminated food or water; cysticercosis, similar to that seen in pigs, develops. If the larvae invade the central nervous system, neurocysticercosis with ensuing neurological dysfunction results. Cysticercotic pigs are rarely found in the United States. Only three animals out of >88 million federally inspected pigs were diagnosed as cysticercotic in 1990. In the United States, the excellent sewage disposal system prevents access of pigs to human feces and infection of pigs by T. solium eggs is consequently rare. In Mexico, however, the mean rate for cysticercotic pigs in inspected slaughter houses during 1980–1981 was 1.55% and there is little reason to suspect that it has decreased. In rural areas of Mexico and South America where sewage disposal is limited, the number of cysticercotic pigs can be in excess of 5% and neurocysticercosis is a common disease in the human population. In such areas, pigs are not penned or fed but depend on scavenging waste, including human waste, for food. Thus, the cycle of cysticercotic pigs infecting humans and tapeworm carriers infecting both humans and pigs is difficult to break in primitive rural areas. The incidence of neurocysticercosis is increasing in the United States due to an influx of immigrants from areas where T. solium is endemic. Most patients presenting with neurocysticercosis are of Mexican origin and probably acquired their disease in Mexico. However, several cases have been reported in people who have no history of travel to endemic areas and who were probably infected through ingestion of food prepared by an unhygienic food preparer who was also a tapeworm carrier. In this review, the life cycle of T. solium, parasite transmission, incidence of T. solium-related disease in pigs and humans, the disease process, drugs used in treatment, detection T. solium and destruction of T. solium eggs and cysticerci in foods are discussed. Food microbiologists must be aware of the increasing importance of T. solium as a disease agent and how to control T. solium-related diseases.

scholarly journals Cysticercosis Neck: A Rare Presentation

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-56
Author(s):  
Sunil Kumar ◽  
SP Agarwal ◽  
Malti Kumari
Keyword(s):  
Differential Diagnosis ◽  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Skeletal Muscles ◽  
Subcutaneous Tissue ◽  
Taenia Solium ◽  
Parasitic Infection ◽  
Oral Route ◽  
Rare Presentation ◽  
Soft Tissue Lesions ◽  
Contaminated Food

ABSTRACT Cysticercosis is a parasitic infection caused by the larvae of the tapeworm Taenia solium. Neurocysticercosis is the most common form of presentation. Extraneural lesions are solitary, rare and small in size which usually involves subcutaneous tissue, skeletal muscles and eyes. Human cysticercosis can occur after ingestion of pork tapeworm eggs, through feco-oral route by ingesting fecally contaminated food or by autoinfection. Solitary extraneural cysticercosis lesions may mimic other soft tissue lesions; this is the reason it is important to consider cysticercosis as a differential diagnosis during evaluating of patients with soft tissue lesions. We report a case of cysticercosis presenting as a large soft cystic swelling in the supraclavicular region of the neck. The diagnosis was suspected after ultrasonography and confirmed by microscopic examination. How to cite this article Kumar S, Agarwal SP, Kumari M. Cysticercosis Neck: A Rare Presentation. Int J Head and Neck Surg 2013;4(1):55-56.

scholarly journals Epilepsy due to Neurocysticercosis: Analysis of a Hospital Cohort

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 063-068
Author(s):  
Bugeme Marcellin ◽  
Sow Adjratou Djeynabou ◽  
Mukuku Olivier ◽  
Millogo Athanase ◽  
Luboya Oscar Numbi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Taenia Solium ◽  
Radiological Feature ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Acute Onset ◽  
Evolutionary Stage ◽  
Intermediate Hosts ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Helminthic Infection ◽  
Common Causes ◽  
Generalized Epilepsy

Introduction: Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is a common helminthic infection of the nervous system that occurs when humans become intermediate hosts in the life cycle of the pig tapeworm (Taenia solium) after ingesting its eggs. The objective of this study was to analyze socio-demographic, clinical and paraclinical features of patients with NCC in Lubumbashi, DRC. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted over a period of 2 years within the Neuropsychiatric Center of Lubumbashi. Socio-demographic, clinical, paraclinical and therapeutic features were studied. Results: A total of 18 patients with NCC were listed. Epilepsy was found in 72.2% (13/18) of the cases. The mean age of the patients was 30.2 ± 13.5 years; males accounted for 61.2% of the cases. 84.6% were consumers of pork. Generalized epilepsy was found in 84.6% of the cases and hypereosinophilia in 38% of the cases. On the neuroimaging, the parietal location of lesions represented 92.3%; calcifications were the type of lesion in 53.8% of the cases and 69.2% of the cases presented lesions in the 4th evolutionary stage. Electroencephalogram was normal in 84.4% of the cases. Phenobarbital was the antiepileptic drug used in 69.3%; albendazole and prednisone were used in 53.9% of the cases. Conclusion: This study shows that NCC is one of the causes of epilepsy in Lubumbashi. Generalized tonic-clonic seizures are the most common form of presentation and calcified parenchymal lesions are the most common radiological feature of NCC. So, any patient with acute onset of afebrile seizure should be screened for NCC provided other common causes been ruled out.

scholarly journals Control trial of porcine cysticercosis in Uganda using a combination of the TSOL18 vaccination and oxfendazole

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Nsadha ◽  
Chris Rutebarika ◽  
Chrisostom Ayebazibwe ◽  
Bukenya Aloys ◽  
M. Mwanja ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Taenia Solium ◽  
Control Program ◽  
Control Area ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Intermediate Hosts ◽  
Porcine Cysticercosis ◽  
Intervention Area ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Village Communities

Abstract Background Neurocysticercosis caused by Taenia solium when the parasite lodges in the central nervous system, is an important cause of human seizures and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. The parasite is prevalent in many regions of Uganda. Pigs are intermediate hosts for T. solium, and we evaluated a T. solium control program in pigs, involving vaccination of pigs with the TSOL18 vaccine and treatment with oxfendazole. Methods The study was conducted in two districts of Eastern Uganda involving the rural village communities of Bukedea (intervention area) and Kumi (control area) during 2016–2017. Seven hundred and thirty-four households were enrolled in the study. Pigs in the intervention area received intramuscular immunizations with TSOL18 (Cysvax™) and an oral medication with 30 mg/kg oxfendazole (Paranthic™) at approximately 3-monthly intervals for 18 months. Porcine cysticercosis was evaluated by post-mortem examination. At the beginning of the study, 111 pigs were examined. In an interim evaluation in the intervention area, 55 pigs were evaluated 12 months after starting the project. At the end of the study approximately 3 months after the final intervention, 55 pigs from the intervention area and 56 pigs from the control area were evaluated. Results The prevalence of porcine cysticercosis for the two sites was 16.2% at the beginning of the study (17.2% in the intervention area and 15.1% in the control area) with no statistically significant difference (P = 0.759) between the two study sites. Among the 110 animals assessed from the intervention site (55 at the interim evaluation and 55 at the final evaluation), no pig with viable T. solium cysts was found. There was a statistically significant difference between the prevalence at baseline (17.2%) and at the end of the study (0%) in the intervention area (P = 0.001) and a statistically significant difference between the intervention (0%) and control areas (5.4%) (P = 0.041) at the end of the study. Conclusions Three-monthly concurrent vaccination of pigs with the TSOL18 vaccine and medication with oxfendazole eliminated T. solium transmission by the animals involved in the study. Application of vaccination with medication in pigs has the potential to reduce transmission of T. solium in Uganda and other endemic countries.

Viral Hepatitis in School-Aged Children

1982 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 105-111
Author(s):  
Lance Chilton
Keyword(s):  
Day Care ◽  
Care Center ◽  
Specific Treatment ◽  
Oral Route ◽  
Carrier State ◽  
Common Source ◽  
Common Disease ◽  
Route Of Transmission ◽  
Contaminated Food ◽  
Immunoglobulin Prophylaxis

Hepatitis A is a common disease in children, usually passed by the fecal-oral route. Because of its route of transmission, day care centers, especially those caring for infants and toddlers in diapers, are a likely site of passage of the disease, unlike schools, where transfer of HAV occurs uncommonly. The pediatrician encountering a case of HA must ascertain (1) that other possible aiagnoses have been eliminated, (2) whether the patient or a sibling attends a day care center, and (3) the likelihood of a common source outbreak associated with contaminated food or drink. Public health help should be sought to determine that all wider implications of the patient's disease have been taken into account. In some instances, immunoglobulin use may be indicated beyond the usual group of family and sexual contacts. In many cases, the pediatrician will be asked to stretch the indications for immunoglobulin prophylaxis; the forces may be so strong as to force mass immunoglobulin administration even if inschool transmission is unlikely. There is no specific treatment for hepatitis; previously prescribed diets and restrictions of activity are unnecessary. Recovery without complications occurs in the vast majority of patients, especially children, with HA. Hepatitis B and non-A, non-B hepatitis are less common than HA in children, except those in certain groups. Those infected have a 10% likelihood of contracting chronic active hepatitis; with HB, a chronic carrier state contributes substantially to the epidemiology of the disease. The same is likely to hold true for non-A, non-B hepatitis. In patients with needle-stick, blood product, or sexual xposure to HB, standard immunoglobulin or HBIG is recommended as prophylaxis; for those exposed to NANB, immunoglobulin may be given. A vaccine to give active protection against HB exists; one is being developed for HA as well.

scholarly journals Avoidance of Contaminated Food Correlates With Low Protozoan Infection in Bonobos

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cécile Sarabian ◽  
Raphaël Belais ◽  
Andrew J. J. MacIntosh
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Agent ◽  
Oral Route ◽  
Behavioral Experiments ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Individual Fitness ◽  
Behavioral Adaptations ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Protozoan Infection ◽  
Contaminated Food ◽  
The Individual

Intense selection pressure from parasites on free-living animals has resulted in behavioral adaptations that help potential hosts avoid sources of infection. In primates, such “behavioral immunity” is expressed in different contexts and may vary according to the ecology of the host, the nature of the infectious agent, and the individual itself. In this study, we investigated whether avoidance of contaminated food was associated with reduced parasite infection in sanctuary-housed bonobos. To do this, we used bonobos’ responses to soil- and fecally-contaminated food in behavioral experiments, and then compared the results with an estimate of protozoan infection across individuals. We found that avoidance of contaminated food correlated negatively with Balantioides coli infection, a potentially pathogenic protozoan transmitted through the fecal-oral route. The association between avoidance responses and parasitism were most evident in experiments in which subjects were offered a choice of food items falling along a gradient of fecal contamination. In the case of experiments with more limited options and a high degree of contamination, most subjects were averse to the presented food item and this may have mitigated any relationship between feeding decisions and infection. In experiments with low perceived levels of contamination, most subjects consumed previously contaminated food items, which may also have obscured such a relationship. The behavioral immunity observed may be a consequence of the direct effects of parasites (infection), reflecting the first scale of a landscape of disgust: individual responses. Indirect effects of parasites, such as modulation of feeding decisions and reduced social interactions—and their potential trade-offs with physiological immunity—are also discussed in light of individual fitness and primate evolution. This study builds on previous work by showing that avoidance behaviors may be effective in limiting exposure to a wide diversity of oro-fecally transmitted parasites.

scholarly journals Taenia larvae possess distinct acetylcholinesterase profiles with implications for host cholinergic signalling

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. e0008966
Author(s):  
Anja de Lange ◽  
Ulrich Fabien Prodjinotho ◽  
Hayley Tomes ◽  
Jana Hagen ◽  
Brittany-Amber Jacobs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Taenia Solium ◽  
Acetylcholinesterase Activity ◽  
Bioinformatic Analysis ◽  
Functional Protein ◽  
Taenia Crassiceps ◽  
Human Sequence ◽  
Neuronal Signalling ◽  
Whole Cell Patch Clamp ◽  
Acquired Epilepsy

Larvae of the cestodes Taenia solium and Taenia crassiceps infect the central nervous system of humans. Taenia solium larvae in the brain cause neurocysticercosis, the leading cause of adult-acquired epilepsy worldwide. Relatively little is understood about how cestode-derived products modulate host neural and immune signalling. Acetylcholinesterases, a class of enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine, are produced by a host of parasitic worms to aid their survival in the host. Acetylcholine is an important signalling molecule in both the human nervous and immune systems, with powerful modulatory effects on the excitability of cortical networks. Therefore, it is important to establish whether cestode derived acetylcholinesterases may alter host neuronal cholinergic signalling. Here we make use of multiple techniques to profile acetylcholinesterase activity in different extracts of both Taenia crassiceps and Taenia solium larvae. We find that the larvae of both species contain substantial acetylcholinesterase activity. However, acetylcholinesterase activity is lower in Taenia solium as compared to Taenia crassiceps larvae. Further, whilst we observed acetylcholinesterase activity in all fractions of Taenia crassiceps larvae, including on the membrane surface and in the excreted/secreted extracts, we could not identify acetylcholinesterases on the membrane surface or in the excreted/secreted extracts of Taenia solium larvae. Bioinformatic analysis revealed conservation of the functional protein domains in the Taenia solium acetylcholinesterases, when compared to the homologous human sequence. Finally, using whole-cell patch clamp recordings in rat hippocampal brain slice cultures, we demonstrate that Taenia larval derived acetylcholinesterases can break down acetylcholine at a concentration which induces changes in neuronal signalling. Together, these findings highlight the possibility that Taenia larval acetylcholinesterases can interfere with cholinergic signalling in the host, potentially contributing to pathogenesis in neurocysticercosis.

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