Title
Diagnosis, treatment and control of Taenia solium cysticercosis
Date Issued
01 October 2003
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
review
Abstract
Purpose of review: Taenia solium taeniasis/cysticercosis is now recognized as a major public health problem in most developing countries because of its association with seizures. Major advances in the diagnosis and epidemiology of taeniasis/cysticercosis have occurred in recent years. However, despite abundant literature on the subject, many questions remain unanswered including the role of anti-parasitic therapy and the potential for long-term control or elimination of the disease in field conditions following active interventions. Recent findings: Recent advances have included improved knowledge of the availability and optimization of diagnostic tools for the tapeworm stage, a better understanding of the meaning of antibody serology, the introduction of antigen detection assays, a consensus on the use of antiparasitic medication, awareness of inflammation and chronic scars around calcified cysts, population-based neuroimaging studies, application of control measures, and progress in the development of a pig vaccine. Summary: Neurocysticercosis is now much better understood than it was a few years ago. Infection and disease are now classified in terms of parasite viability, resulting in multiple and diverse clinical entities, each of which has a proper prognosis and management. As a result of this, the interpretation of diagnostic assays and imaging examinations is much more coherent. New aspects of this interesting disease have been recognized, mainly in relation to the frequency of calcified neurocysticercosis and its potential association with symptomatic relapses. Consensus diagnostic and treatment schemes have been proposed, and promising alternatives for control are currently being tested in several countries.
Start page
411
End page
419
Volume
16
Issue
5
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Parasitología Neurología clínica
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-0142043913
PubMed ID
Source
Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases
ISSN of the container
09517375
Sponsor(s)
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases P01AI051976, U01AI035894 Fogarty International Center D43TW000910, D43TW001140, R03TW005562
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus