Observational studyAfrican health sciences2013
MRI findings in people with epilepsy and nodding syndrome in an area endemic for onchocerciasis: an observational study.
Observational study in African health sciences, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers.
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Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 68 citations in OpenAlex.
- Nodding Syndrome: The Need to Strengthen Epilepsy Care in Onchocerciasis-Endemic Areas and to Investigate the Pathogenesis of Onchocerciasis-Associated Epilepsy.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2026Article
- Article
- Cameroonian blackflies (Diptera: Simuliidae) harbour a plethora of RNA viruses.Virus evolution · 2025Article
- The onchocerciasis hypothesis of nodding syndrome.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Article
- Excitatory amino acids, possible causative agents of nodding syndrome in eastern Africa.Tropical medicine and health · 2023Article
- The spectrum of disease and tau pathology of nodding syndrome in Uganda.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2023Article
- Comparison of Structural Changes in Nodding Syndrome and Other Epilepsies Associated WithNeurology(R) neuroimmunology & neuroinflammation · 2023Article
- Genomic analysis, immunomodulation and deep phenotyping of patients with nodding syndrome.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2023Article
- The neurology of chronic nodding syndrome.Brain communications · 2022Article
- The role of helminths in the development of non-communicable diseases.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Review
- Nodding Syndrome: A Scoping Review.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2021Article
- Risk Factors for Nodding Syndrome and Other Forms of Epilepsy in Northern Uganda: A Case-Control Study.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Onchocerca volvulus and epilepsy: A comprehensive review using the Bradford Hill criteria for causation.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Review
- The Secretome of Filarial Nematodes and Its Role in Host-Parasite Interactions and Pathogenicity in Onchocerciasis-Associated Epilepsy.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2021Review
- Putative Autoantigen Leiomodin-1 Is Expressed in the Human Brain and in the Membrane Fraction of Newly Formed Neurons.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Zoonotic and vector-borne parasites and epilepsy in low-income and middle-income countries.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2020Review
- Onchocerca volvulus is not detected in the cerebrospinal fluid of persons with onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2020Article
- Nodding syndrome: a concise review.Brain communications · 2020Review
- Economic burden of the persistent morbidity of nodding syndrome on caregivers in affected households in Northern Uganda.PloS one · 2020Article
- Neuroinflammation and Not Tauopathy Is a Predominant Pathological Signature of Nodding Syndrome.Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 6 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOnchocerciasis has been implicated in the pathogenesis of epilepsy. The debate on a potential causal relationship between Onchocerca volvulus and epilepsy has taken a new direction in the light of the most recent epidemic of nodding syndrome.
objectiveTo document MRI changes in people with different types of epilepsy and investigate whether there is an association with O. volvulus infection.
methodsIn a prospective study in southern Tanzania, an area endemic for O. volvulus with a high prevalence of epilepsy and nodding syndrome, we performed MRI on 32 people with epilepsy, 12 of which suffered from nodding syndrome. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of O. volvulus was performed in skin and CSF.
resultsThe most frequent abnormalities seen on MRI was atrophy (twelve patients (37.5%)) followed by intraparenchymal pathologies such as changes in the hippocampus (nine patients (28.1%)), gliotic lesions (six patients (18.8%)) and subcortical signal abnormalities (three patients (9.4%)). There was an overall trend towards an association of intraparenchymal cerebral pathologies and infection with O. volvulus based on skin PCR (Fisher's Exact Test p=0.067) which was most pronounced in children and adolescents with nodding syndrome compared to those with other types of epilepsy (Fisher's Exact Test, p=0.083). Contrary to skin PCR results, PCR of CSF was negative in all patients.
conclusionThe observed trend towards an association of intraparenchymal cerebral pathological results on MRI and a positive skin PCR for O. volvulus despite negative PCR of CSF is intriguing and deserves further attention.
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