PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2014 May 29;8(5):e2908. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002908. eCollection 2014.

Exposure to multiple parasites is associated with the prevalence of active convulsive epilepsy in sub-saharan Africa

Kamuyu G¹, Bottomley C², Mageto J³, Lowe B⁴, Wilkins PP⁵, Noh JC⁵, Nutman TB⁶, Ngugi AK⁷, Odhiambo R⁸, Wagner RG⁹, Kakooza-Mwesige A¹⁰, Owusu-Agyei S¹¹, Ae-Ngibise K¹¹, Masanja H¹², Osier FH⁸, Odermatt P¹³, Newton CR¹⁴; Study of Epidemiology of Epilepsy in Demographic Sites (SEEDS) group.

BACKGROUND:

Epilepsy is common in developing countries, and it is often associated with parasitic infections. We investigated the relationship between exposure to parasitic infections, particularly multiple infections and active convulsive epilepsy (ACE), in five sites across sub-Saharan Africa.

CONCLUSION:

This study investigates how the degree of exposure to parasites and multiple parasitic infections are associated with ACE and may explain conflicting results obtained when only seropositivity is considered. The findings from this study should be further validated.

PMID:

24875312

[PubMed - in process]