ArticleBMJ open2018
Asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia and seizure control in children with nodding syndrome; a cross-sectional study.
Article in BMJ open, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02850913 (Doxycycline for the Treatment of Nodding Syndrome), which is not on this map. Cited by 5 papers.
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.
Doxycycline for the Treatment of Nodding Syndrome: A Phase II, Randomised Placebo Controlled Trial
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Depression symptom severity and behavioral impairment in school-going adolescents in Uganda.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Characterization of Anopheles gambiae D7 salivary proteins as markers of human-mosquito bite contact.Parasites & vectors · 2022Article
- Macrophage migration inhibitory factor in Nodding syndrome.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Article
- Protection or susceptibility to devastating childhood epilepsy: Nodding Syndrome associates with immunogenetic fingerprints in the HLA binding groove.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2020Article
- Climate change and epilepsy: Time to take action.Epilepsia open · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objective
designThis cross-sectional study was nested in an ongoing trial 'Doxycycline for the treatment of nodding syndrome (NCT02850913)'. We hypothesised that, in patients with epilepsy, infection by SETTING AND
participantsParticipants were Ugandan children with nodding syndrome, age ≥8 years, receiving sodium valproate. All had standardised testing including documentation of the number of seizures in the past month, a rapid malaria test and if positive, the peripheral blood parasite density. OUTCOMES: The primary outcome was the number of seizures in the past month (30 days).
resultsA total of 164/240 (68%) had malaria. Asymptomatic infections (without fever) were seen in 160/240 (67%) and symptomatic infections in 4/240 (2.7%). In participants without malaria, the median (IQR) number of seizures in the past month was 2.0 (1.0-4.0) and it was 4.0 (2.0-7.5) in participants with malaria, p=0.017. The number of seizures in asymptomatic persons was 3.0 (IQR 2.0-7.3) and 6.0 (IQR 4.0-10.0) in symptomatic individuals, p=0.024. Additionally, in asymptomatic patients, a positive correlation was observed between the parasite density and number of seizures, r=0.33, p
conclusionIn patients with nodding syndrome, both asymptomatic and symptomatic malaria are associated with an increased risk of seizures and poorer seizure control. Similar effects should be examined in other epilepsy disorders. Malaria prevention should be strengthened for these patients and chemotreatment and prevention studies considered to improve seizure control.
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Registered trials
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