title: Immunological and molecular diagnosis of cysticercosis.
abstract: Cysticercosis, the infection with the larval stage of Taenia solium, is a cause of neurological symptoms including seizures, affecting the quality of life of patients and their families. Diagnosis focuses on brain imaging and serological tests are mostly used as confirmatory  tools. Most cases, however, occur in poor endemic areas, where both kinds of diagnostic tools are poorly available. Development of point of care diagnostic tests is one of the most important priorities for cysticercosis researches today. The ideal point of care test would require detection  of viable cysticercosis and hopefully identify cases with severe or progressive forms of neurocysticercosis, leading to referral of the patient for specialized medical attention. This manuscript describes the evolution of the serological diagnosis of cysticercosis over time, and the characteristics  of the most common currently available tools, their advantages and disadvantages, and their potential use in future diagnostic tests.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurológicas, Jr. Anchash 1271, Lima 1, Peru. silvia@peruresearch.org
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wilkins
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dorny
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003551:Cysticercosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D010274:Parasitology / Q000379:methods*; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000379:methods; D041201:Taenia solium / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology