Neurocysticercotic Calcifications and Hippocampal Sclerosis: A Case-Control Study

Author(s)

Taveira, Mateus de Oliveira ^[1] ; Morita, Marcia Elisabete ^[2] ; Yasuda, Clarissa Lin ^[2] ; Coan, Ana Carolina ^[2] ; Secolin, Rodrigo ^[3] ; Cunha da Costa, Alberto Luiz ^[2] ; Cendes, Fernando ^[2]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Sch Med Sci, Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Estadual Campinas, Dept Neurol, Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Estadual Campinas, Dept Med Genet, Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: PLoS One; v. 10, n. 7 JUL 1 2015.
• Web of Science Citations: 8

Abstract

Objective The exact role of calcified neurocysticercotic lesions (CNLs) in epilepsy is yet unknown and controversial. Although the relationship between CNLs, epilepsy and mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (MTLE-HS) has already been addressed, to our knowledge, no study has actually provided strong statistical evidence, nor reported the ODDS ratio for these associations. Therefore, we designed this case-control study to assess the likelihood of having MTLE-HS versus other forms of epilepsy in the presence of CNLs. Methods In this case-control study we included 119 consecutive patients with epilepsy and 106 disease controls (headache) with previous CT scans. We subdivided cases into MTLE-HS and other epilepsies. We used brain CT scans to define presence or absence of CNLs. After exploratory analyses, we used logistic regression to analyze the association between CNLs, epilepsy subgroups and disease controls. Results CNLs were found in 31.09% of cases and in 11.32% of controls (p<0.001). The initial analysis comparing epilepsy versus controls revealed a significant association between CNLs and epilepsy (OR = 5.32; 95%CI = 2.43-11.54; p<0.001). However, when we compared MTLE-HS versus other epilepsies versus controls we confirmed that CNLs were associated with MTLE-HS (OR = 11.27, 95%CI = 4.73-26.85; p<0.001) but other epilepsies were not. We found no difference in the CNLs load and no difference in the location of the CNLs when we compared patients with MTLE-HS, other epilepsies and disease controls. Significance The inclusion of controls allowed us to estimate the likelihood of having epilepsy in the presence of CNLs. We found that patients with CNLs were 11 times more likely to have MTLE-HS; however, the presence of CNLs did not change the odds of having other types of epilepsy. These findings raise the possibility of neurocysticercosis playing a role in the pathophysiology of MTLE-HS and need further confirmation in other series. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/07559-3 - BRAINN - The Brazilian Institute of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology
• Grantee: Fernando Cendes
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers - RIDC
• FAPESP's process: 13/21265-2 - Comparison of prevalence of neurocysticercotic calcifications on CT scan in patients with epilepsy and patients with headache
• Grantee: Mateus de Oliveira Taveira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation