Neurocysticercosis as an infectious acquired epilepsy worldwide Doodipala Samba Reddy, Randy Volkmer  Seizure - European Journal of Epilepsy  Volume 52, Pages 176-181 (November 2017) DOI: 10.1016/j.seizure.2017.10.004 Copyright © 2017 British Epilepsy Association Terms and Conditions

Fig. 1 The CDC illustration of the lifecycle of Taenia solium and Taenia saginata, the suspected parasites for the infectious cause of epilepsy worldwide. According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cysticercosis is a parasitic tissue infection caused by larval cysts of the tapeworm Taenia solium. These larval cysts infect brain, muscle, or other tissue, and are a major cause of adult onset seizures in some countries. A person gets cysticercosis by swallowing eggs found in the feces of a person who has an intestinal tapeworm. Eating undercooked pork can result in intestinal tapeworm infection if the pork contains larval cysts. Pigs become infected by eating tapeworm eggs in the feces of a human infected with a tapeworm. Pigs serve as intermediate reservoirs for larval and egg forms. Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Seizure - European Journal of Epilepsy 2017 52, 176-181DOI: (10.1016/j.seizure.2017.10.004) Copyright © 2017 British Epilepsy Association Terms and Conditions

Fig. 2 A model for neurocystocercosis-induced epilepsy development. It is likely that NCC infection may act as an initial insult or inciting lesion (the cyst) from which a significant percentage of hosts may develop epilepsy through the common epileptogenesis. Such infection-triggered epileptogenesis may often occur over a long latent period prior to the first recurrent seizure with variable time course after an initial infection. Alterations in the blood-brain barrier and persistent proinflammatory response that surround the cysts or calcified granulomas may underlie the epileptogenesis in patients with NCC infection. MRI imaging supports the presence of such inciting lesions in patients with NCC-related recurrent seizures. Consistent with human cases, epilepsy is observed in some rodent models of experimental NCC infection after a latent period. Seizure - European Journal of Epilepsy 2017 52, 176-181DOI: (10.1016/j.seizure.2017.10.004) Copyright © 2017 British Epilepsy Association Terms and Conditions