期刊
TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE
卷 96, 期 5, 页码 537-541出版社
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1016/S0035-9203(02)90433-5
关键词
onchocerciasis; Onchocerca volvulus; epilepsy; case-control study; Cameroon
Studies conducted during the past 10 years to investigate the possible relationship between onchocerciasis and epilepsy have led to contradictory results. In 1991-92 and 2001 we investigated 14 villages in central Cameroon to evaluate the relationship, at the community level, between the prevalence of epilepsy and the endemicity level of onchocerciasis. A case-control study compared the microfilarial loads of 72 epileptic and 72 non-epileptic individuals, matched according to sex, age, and village of residence. The prevalence of epilepsy and the community microfilarial load (CMFL) were closely related (P < 0.02), and the case-control study demonstrated that the microfilarial loads (microfilariae per snip) in the epileptic group (arithmetic mean = 288, median = 216) were significantly higher (P < 10(-4)) than in the control group (arithmetic mean = 141, median = 63). These results strongly support the existence of a link between onchocerciasis and epilepsy. The fact that such a relationship has not been found recently in some other West and Central African areas is probably due to the lowered endemicity of onchocerciasis following vector- and ivermectin-related control measures applied over the past 525 years. The socio-economic and demographic impact of onchocerciasis-related epilepsy should be evaluated, and taken into account as part of all onchocerciasis control programmes.
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