Epilepsy and toxocariasis: a case–control study in Italy

Abstract

SUMMARYPurpose: To assess the relationship between epilepsy and toxocariasis in adult subjects by means of a case-control study in Catania, Italy. Methods: People with epilepsy (PWE) were randomly selected from the database of the center of epilepsy of our department. Epilepsy was diagnosed according to the definition proposed by the International League Against Epilepsy. One healthy control per each case was selected among subjects who went to the central laboratory for a hematological check. Control subjects underwent a complete neurological examination to exclude the presence of neurological disorders. PWE and controls were assessed serologically for antibodies against Toxocara canis (T. canis) by an immunoblotting assay. Results: Two hundred thirty-one PWE (110 men and 121 women) and 201 controls (126 men and 75 women) were enrolled in the study. Of the 231 PWE, 152 presented partial seizures. Antibodies anti-T. canis were found in 38 PWE (16.4%) and in 13 controls (6.6%) giving a crude OR of 2.85 (95% CI 1.47-5.51). Adjusted OR estimated by logistic regression was 3.90 (95% CI 1.91-7.98). This association was mainly due to a significant association between Toxocara antibodies and partial epilepsy (adjusted OR 4.69; 95% CI 2.24-9.80), while a positive, but not significant, association was found with generalized seizures (adjusted OR 1.74; 95% CI 0.60-5.05). Conclusion: We found a significant association between T. canis seropositivity and epilepsy and a stronger association was found with partial epilepsy. Our finding suggests that toxocariasis may increase the risk of epilepsy.

Toxocara infection in the United States: the relevance of poverty, geography and demography as risk factors, and implications for estimating county prevalence

“…The overall US rates of 14.6% (males) and 12.6% (females) are close to those of Won et al (2008), but higher than seroprevalence rates of 2.4% for Denmark reported by Stensvold et al (2009), 6.6% among 201 healthy Italians reported by Nicoletti et al (2008) and 13.7% among healthy Slovakian blood donors reported by Havasiova et al (1993). Considerably higher prevalences among rural/farm workers in Italy and Austria are reported by Genchi et al (1990) and Deutz et al (2005).…”

Exposure toEchinococcus multilocularis, Toxocara canis, andToxocara catiin Austria: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Seroprevalence Study

“…Patients may present with fever and hepatosplenomegaly (visceral larva migrans syndrome), ocular involvement (ocular larvae migrans syndrome), lower respiratory symptoms, but also myocarditis or nephritis (Despommier 2003). Involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) can lead to variety of neurological disorders (Nicoletti et al 2008). Chronic exposure to migrating larvae might result in more subtle clinical symptoms, including abdominal pain, cough, or headache (covert toxocarosis).…”

Epilepsy and tropical parasitic infections in Sub-Saharan Africa: a review

“…In the gastrointestinal tract, the ingested meat is digested and the encysted larvae are released. They penetrate the intestinal mucosa, and migrate to the circulatory and the lymphatic system (Nicoletti et al, 2008;Gottstein et al, 2009). Through the circulatory system, the larvae migrate through all parts of the body but they only survive in the striated muscles where they become encysted and eventually calcify (Murrel & Pozio., 2000).…”