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Title
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Urinary N-acetyltyramine-O,beta-glucuronide in persons with onchocerciasis-Associated epilepsy
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Author
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Abstract
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| We investigated urinary N-acetyltyramine-O,beta-glucuronide (NATOG) levels as a biomarker for active Onchocerca volvulus infection in an onchocerciasis-endemic area in the Democratic Republic of Congo with a high epilepsy prevalence. Urinary NATOG was measured in non-epileptic men with and without O. volvulus infection, and in O. volvulus-infected persons with epilepsy (PWE). Urinary NATOG concentration was positively associated with microfilarial density (p < 0.001). The median urinary NATOG concentration was higher in PWE (3.67 mu M) compared to men without epilepsy (1.74 mu M), p = 0.017; and was higher in persons with severe (7.62 mu M) compared to mild epilepsy (2.16 mu M); p = 0.008. Non-epileptic participants with and without O. volvulus infection had similar NATOG levels (2.23 mu M and 0.71 mu M, p = 0.426). In a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis to investigate the diagnostic value of urinary NATOG, the area under the curve was 0.721 (95% CI: 0.633-0.797). Using the previously proposed cut-off value of 13 mu M to distinguish between an active O. volvulus infection and an uninfected state, the sensitivity was 15.9% and the specificity 95.9%. In conclusion, an O. volvulus infection is associated with an increased urinary NATOG concentration, which correlates with the individual parasitic load. However, the NATOG concentration has a low discriminating power to differentiate between infected and uninfected individuals. |
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Language
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English
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Source (journal)
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Pathogens
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Publication
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2020
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ISSN
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2076-0817
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DOI
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10.3390/PATHOGENS9030191
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Volume/pages
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9
:3
(2020)
, p. 1-10
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Article Reference
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191
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ISI
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000524306100018
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Pubmed ID
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32151038
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Medium
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E-only publicatie
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Full text (Publisher's DOI)
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Full text (open access)
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