title: Effects of Schistosoma haematobium infection on mental test scores of Kenyan school children.
abstract: Adverse effects of Schistosoma haematobium infection on mental activities were studied at a primary school in rural Kenya, where the intensity of infection was light (the average egg count: < 50/10 ml of urine). The school children received three kinds of mental tests, which examine attentiveness and concentration, before and a month after treatment with a single dose of praziquantel. A pretreatment analysis showed that test scores became worse as egg counts of children increased. The praziquantel treatment improved the scores of all three tests among children who got high scores in the first tests. The study showed that even the light infection caused adverse effects on mental activities, which were detectable using simple mental tests.
authors: Department of Parasitology, Nagasaki University, Japan.
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Kimura
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Moji
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Uga
authors: F M
authors: FM
authors: Kiliku
authors: D K
authors: DK
authors: Migwi
authors: W R
authors: WR
authors: Mutua
authors: N D
authors: ND
authors: Muhoho
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Aoki
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D007630:Kenya; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes; D010270:Parasite Egg Count; D011223:Praziquantel / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012548:Schistosoma haematobium / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012553:Schistosomiasis haematobia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D014556:Urine / Q000469:parasitology
chemical_list: D011223:Praziquantel