Neurocysticercosis Diagnosis in a Non-Endemic Country: France
Ines Zemmour,
Marie-Fleur Durieux,
Etienne Herault,
Célia Rouges,
Barbara Šoba,
Aurélien Mercier,
Frédéric Ariey,
Pierre-Marie Preux,
Hélène Yera,
on behalf of Collaborators Group
Affiliations
Ines Zemmour
Parasitology-Mycology Laboratory, Dupuytren Universitary Hospital Center, 87000 Limoges, France
Marie-Fleur Durieux
Parasitology-Mycology Laboratory, Dupuytren Universitary Hospital Center, 87000 Limoges, France
Etienne Herault
Parasitology-Mycology Laboratory, Dupuytren Universitary Hospital Center, 87000 Limoges, France
Célia Rouges
Parasitology-Mycology, Hôpital Cochin, APHP, Université de Paris, INSERM 1016, Institut Cochin, 75014 Paris, France
Barbara Šoba
Laboratory of Parasitology, Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Aurélien Mercier
Inserm U1094, IRD UMR270, University of Limoges, CHU Limoges, EpiMaCT—Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases in the Tropical Zone, Institute of Epidemiology and Tropical Neurology, OmegaHealth, 87000 Limoges, France
Frédéric Ariey
Parasitology-Mycology, Hôpital Cochin, APHP, Université de Paris, INSERM 1016, Institut Cochin, 75014 Paris, France
Pierre-Marie Preux
Inserm U1094, IRD UMR270, University of Limoges, CHU Limoges, EpiMaCT—Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases in the Tropical Zone, Institute of Epidemiology and Tropical Neurology, OmegaHealth, 87000 Limoges, France
Hélène Yera
Parasitology-Mycology Laboratory, Dupuytren Universitary Hospital Center, 87000 Limoges, France
Diagnosing neurocysticercosis (NCC) is difficult due to its variable clinical presentations and the different imaging techniques used to detect brain damage. This study aimed to evaluate the use of cerebrospinal fluid serology and PCR for diagnosing biological neurocysticercosis in a non-endemic country. We tested samples from patients living in France with suspected NCC and confirmed that 45 of the patients presented with the disease. A total of 89% of patients had previously traveled to countries where the disease was endemic. The sensitivity of Western blots compared to ELISA was not significantly different (80% vs. 60%) (p > 0.05), and neither was the sensitivity of Western blots vs. PCR (78% vs. 56%) (p > 0.05). The PCR sensitivity was 78% and 47% in definitive NCC and in probable NCC. PCR tests using cerebrospinal fluid should be considered as a diagnostic criterion for identifying NCC.
