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Title
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Epilepsy is not caused by cysticercosis in The Gambia
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Author
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Abstract
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| Objective To determine whether epilepsy is caused by Taenia solium cysticercosis in The Gambia. Methods Casecontrol study testing samples collected from 210 people with epilepsy and 420 matched controls by sex and age ±5 years from 69 different places around the country during the period October 2008March 2009. All serum samples were subjected to an antigen detection ELISA (Ag-ELISA) and electro-immunotransfer blot (EITB), and the seropositives were further CT-scanned to determine the presence of cysticerci in the brain. Results Although not significantly different (P = 0.668), circulating Taenia antigen was found by Ag-ELISA in 1.4% (95% CI: 0.34.1) of people with epilepsy and in 1.9% (95% CI: 0.83.7) of the controls. A non-significant (P = 0.4718) odds ratio of association 0.75 (95% CI: 0.133.15) between epilepsy and the presence of Taenia antigens was found. All 630 serum samples turned out seronegative by the EITB test. There were no intracranial cysts or cyst-like structures detected among the nine CT-scanned Ag-ELISA seropositives. Conclusion Epilepsy appears not to be caused by cysticercosis in The Gambia. |
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Language
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English
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Source (journal)
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Tropical medicine and international health. - Oxford
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Publication
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Oxford
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2010
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ISSN
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1360-2276
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Volume/pages
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15
:4
(2010)
, p. 476-479
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ISI
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000275530600012
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Full text (Publisher's DOI)
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