Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40323912›Full record

ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2025

The process of residual calcification following antiparasitic treatment in the pig model of neurocysticercosis is dynamic.

Gianfranco Arroyo, Laura Baquedano, Rosa Diaz-Gongora, Lizziee Tello-Ccente, Erick Castillo, Edson Bernal, Omar Gonzales-Viera, Robert H Gilman, Manuela R Verastegui, Theodore E Nash and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Gianfranco ArroyoCenter for Global Health, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7903-1691
Laura BaquedanoCenter for Global Health, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
Rosa Diaz-GongoraCenter for Global Health, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
Lizziee Tello-CcenteCenter for Global Health, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
Erick CastilloCenter for Global Health, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
Edson BernalInfectious Diseases Laboratory Research-LID, Faculty of Sciences and Philosophy, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
Omar Gonzales-VieraDepartment of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America.
Robert H GilmanDepartment of International Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
Manuela R VerasteguiInfectious Diseases Laboratory Research-LID, Faculty of Sciences and Philosophy, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
Theodore E NashLaboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.
Armando E GonzalezSchool of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru.
Hector H GarciaCenter for Global Health, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
Javier A BustosCenter for Global Health, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
Cysticercosis Working Group in Peru [CWGP]

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCalcified neurocysticercosis (NCC), the end stage of brain cysts of the pork tapeworm Taenia solium is a common cause of epilepsy. Calcified NCC lesions are not inert and represent potential epileptogenic foci. Understanding the mechanisms of residual calcification in NCC is hindered by the difficulty of accessing human brain biopsies. Since cyst degeneration can be induced by antiparasitic treatment (APT) in NCC-infected pigs, this study assessed the residual calcification process in this model at three time points after APT. METHODS/PRINCIPAL

findingsFifteen naturally infected pigs with viable NCC confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging received APT with albendazole and praziquantel and were sacrificed after 4, 8, and 12 months (n = 5 each). The pigs' brains were removed and processed by ex vivo CT scan to assess the proportion of cysts that calcified by post-treatment time points using risk ratios (RR) from Poisson regression. Radiodensity levels (Hounsefield units) of calcified lesions were also measured and compared using linear coefficients from log-transformed values in generalized linear models. The overall proportion of residual calcification on CT scan was 63.9% (156 calcified lesions/244 viable cysts), being statistically higher in treated NCC pigs at 4 months (83.3% [50/60], RR = 2.61, P < 0.001) and 8 months (82.8% [77/93], RR = 2.59, P < 0.001) versus 12 months (31.9% [29/91]). At 8 months after APT, calcifications were more dense (100.6 ± 3.6 HU) compared to 12 months (74.4 ± 3.6 HU, β = 0.37, P = 0.010) and marginally higher compared to 4 months (85.2 ± 3.8 HU, β = 0.24, P = 0.096), and were also larger and more frequently found on histopathology. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Calcification in NCC is a dynamic process that can be induced and monitored in naturally infected pigs. Eight months after treatment seems to be an optimal time point for assessing residual calcification.

Indexed as

AnthelminticsAntiparasitic AgentsCalcinosisNeurocysticercosisSwine DiseasesAlbendazoleAnimalsBrainDisease Models, AnimalMagnetic Resonance ImagingPraziquantelSwineTaenia soliumTomography, X-Ray ComputedAlbendazoleAnthelminticsAntiparasitic AgentsPraziquantel

Identifiers

PMID40323912
PMCPMC12052124

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.