Onchocerciasis-related epilepsy? Prospects at a time of uncertainty.
Epilepsy and onchocerciasis (river blindness) constitute serious public health problems in several tropical countries. There are four main mechanisms that might explain a relationship between these two diseases: (i) the presence of Onchocerca volvulus in the central nervous system; (ii) the pathogenicity of various O. volvulus strains; (iii) immunological mechanisms involving cross-reactive immunization or cytokine production during infection; and (iv) the triggering role of insomnia due to itching.
Marin
Benoît
B
Institut de Neuroépidémiologie et de Neurologie Tropicale (EA 3174), Faculté de Médecine, 2 rue de Docteur Marcland, 87025 Limoges Cedex, France.
Boussinesq
Michel
M
Druet-Cabanac
Michel
M
Kamgno
Joseph
J
Bouteille
Bernard
B
Preux
Pierre-Marie
PM
D000818:Animals; D015984:Causality; D020807:Central Nervous System Parasitic Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D006801:Humans; D017181:Onchocerca volvulus / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D015827:Onchocerciasis, Ocular / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology*; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000150:complications
D016207:Cytokines