SynthesisPLoS neglected tropical diseases2012
Toxocariasis and epilepsy: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Human toxocariasis.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Seroprevalence of human toxocariasis in Latin America and the Caribbean: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- Dog and Cat Contact as Risk Factor for Human Toxocariasis: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- Updated evidence of the association between toxocariasis and epilepsy: Systematic review and meta-analysis.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2018Pooled it
- Neurotoxocariasis: a systematic literature review.Infection · 2016Pooled it
- Spatial transcriptomic atlas of murine neurotoxocariasis reveals region-specific host responses and dysfunction in the brain.Nature communications · 2026Article
- The potential relationship between Toxocara canis infection and epilepsy in a rat model.Parasitology research · 2025Article
- Rethinking ADHD as a neurointestinal syndrome: a gut-brain-parasite hypothesis.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Article
- Who Let the Dogs Out? Unmasking the Neglected: A Semi-Systematic Review on the Enduring Impact of Toxocariasis, a Prevalent Zoonotic Infection.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Review
- The role of helminths in the development of non-communicable diseases.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Review
- Case-Control Study to Assess the Association between Epilepsy andMicroorganisms · 2021Article
- Potential Parasitic Causes of Epilepsy in an Onchocerciasis Endemic Area in the Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of Congo.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Toxocara Awareness Among Medical Practitioners in Saudi Arabia.EcoHealth · 2021Article
- "Begging the Question"-DoesPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Community-based door to door census of suspected people living with epilepsy: empowering community drug distributors to improve the provision of care to rural communities in Cameroon.BMC public health · 2020Article
- Survey of UK pet owners quantifying internal parasite infection risk and deworming recommendation implications.Parasites & vectors · 2020Article
- Clinical and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings of Neurotoxocariasis.Frontiers in neurology · 2018Review
- Soil-Transmitted Helminths in Tropical Australia and Asia.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2017Review
- Global toxocariasis research trends from 1932 to 2015: a bibliometric analysis.Health research policy and systems · 2017Article
- A screening questionnaire for convulsive seizures: A three-stage field-validation in rural Bolivia.PloS one · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveHuman toxocariasis is a zoonotic infection caused by the larval stages of Toxocara canis (T. canis) and less frequently Toxocara cati (T. cati). A relationship between toxocariasis and epilepsy has been hypothesized. We conducted a systematic review and a meta-analysis of available data to evaluate the strength of association between epilepsy and Toxocara spp. seropositivity and to propose some guidelines for future surveys. DATA SOURCES: Electronic databases, the database from the Institute of Neuroepidemiology and Tropical Neurology of the University of Limoges (http://www-ient.unilim.fr/) and the reference lists of all relevant papers and books were screened up to October 2011.
methodsWe performed a systematic review of literature on toxocariasis (the exposure) and epilepsy (the outcome). Two authors independently assessed eligibility and study quality and extracted data. A common odds ratio (OR) was estimated using a random-effects meta-analysis model of aggregated published data.
resultsSeven case-control studies met the inclusion criteria, for a total of 1867 participants (850 cases and 1017 controls). The percentage of seropositivity (presence of anti-Toxocara spp. antibodies) was higher among people with epilepsy (PWE) in all the included studies even if the association between epilepsy and Toxocara spp. seropositivity was statistically significant in only 4 studies, with crude ORs ranging 2.04-2.85. Another study bordered statistical significance, while in 2 of the included studies no significant association was found. A significant (p < 0.001) common OR of 1.92 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.50-2.44] was estimated. Similar results were found when meta-analysis was restricted to the studies considering an exclusively juvenile population and to surveys using Western Blot as confirmatory or diagnostic serological assay.
conclusionOur results support the existence of a positive association between Toxocara spp. seropositivity and epilepsy. Further studies, possibly including incident cases, should be performed to better investigate the relationship between toxocariasis and epilepsy.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.