Cysticercosis

What is Cysticercosis?

Cysticercosis is the frequent parasitic most disease of the CNS, and one of the most pleomorphic of neurological disorders. Clinical manifestations of neurocysticercosis (NCC) nonspecific and largely depend are on the number and topography of lesions and the host immune the parasite to the response. NCC is usually manifested by seizures, progressive intellectual deterioration, and signs and of increased intracranial symptoms pressure.

Fig.1 Magnetic resonance images (MRI) of neurocysticercosis. (Carpio, 1998)

Cysticercosis in humans refers to infection with the metacestode stage of T. solium. Humans act as obligate definitive hosts with pigs being the intermediate host normally involved in the transmission of the parasite to humans as definitive hosts.

Fig.2 Life cycle of Taenia solium larvae. (Kraft, 2007)

New Tools and a New Paradigm for Control of Cysticercosis

A new and highly effective vaccine has been developed, which can almost completely prevent the establishment of T. solium parasites in pigs. The TSOL18 vaccine utilizes an antigen cloned from the oncosphere life cycle stage of T. solium. Two immunizations with this recombinant protein, together with the veterinary adjuvant Quil A have provided >99 % protection against experimental challenge infection with T. solium in pigs involved in trials undertaken in Mexico, Peru, Honduras, and Cameroon. The TSOL18 vaccine provides a new and potentially valuable tool to assist with the control of T. solium transmission.

Immunological and Molecular Diagnosis of Cysticercosis

• Antibody Detection Tests for Cysticercosis

The first serological assays for parasitic infections were complement precipitation and fixation techniques. Antibody detection does not distinguish active from inactive infections and is not useful to; monitor changes over short periods; however, its diagnostic efficacy is much higher than that of antigen detection assays. Scientists applied the ELISA technique to detect T. solium antibodies in epidemiological studies.

Antigen characterization became then the objective of researchers looking for improved serological tests. One of the more studied antigens was antigen B, which was described as the antigen more frequently recognized by sera from NCC-infected, patients producing a strong antibody response.

The lentil lectin-purified glycoprotein enzyme-linked immunoelectrotransfer blot (LLGP-EITB) combines the specificity of using antigens previously purified by chromatography plus the resolution capacity of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with sodium dodecyl sulfate coupled with the sensitivity of enzyme-based immunodetection. Further comparative testing demonstrated the superiority of the LLGP-EITB over ELISA for the diagnosis of human and porcine cysticercosis. Nowadays, a variety of laboratory methods are available to support the diagnosis of NCC. The LLGP-EITB remains the optimal assay for clinical diagnosis, while antigen detection is useful to monitor patients after anthelminthic treatment.

Products for Cysticercosis Research

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References

1. Carpio, A.; Cysticercosis and epilepsy: a critical review. Epilepsia. 1998, 39(10): 1025-1040.
2. Kraft, R. Cysticercosis: an emerging parasitic disease. Am Fam Physician. 2007 Jul 1; 76(1): 91-6.