Neuroparasitology and Tropical Neurology

Neuroparasitology and Tropical Neurology
Author: Oscar H. Del Brutto
Publisher: Elsevier Inc. Chapters
Total Pages: 38
Release: 2013-07-03
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 012807969X

Cysticercosis, an infection caused by the cystic larvae of the pork tapeworm Taenia solium, is one of the most frequent parasitic infections of the human nervous system (neurocysticercosis). It is endemic in most of Latin America, the sub-Saharan Africa, and vast parts of Asia, including the Indian subcontinent. It has also been increasingly diagnosed in developed countries because of migration of people from endemic zones and exposure in travelers. The life cycle involves the development of the adult tapeworm in the human small intestine (after ingesting infected pork with cysts) and larval infection in pig tissues (after ingesting human stools containing the eggs of the tapeworm). Humans get infected by the fecal-oral route, most often from a direct contact with an asymptomatic Taenia carrier. Most common clinical presentations are seizures (particularly late-onset seizures), chronic headaches, and intracranial hypertension. However, cysticerci can locate anywhere in the human nervous system, thus potentially causing almost any neurological syndrome and making clinical diagnosis a difficult task. Neuroimaging is the main diagnostic tool, and specific serology confirms the diagnosis and helps to define the diagnosis when images are unclear. Factors such as location (extraparenchymal versus intraparenchymal), number, size and evolutive stage of the parasites determine the clinical manifestations, therapeutic approach, and prognosis. Management includes symptomatic drugs (analgesics, antiepileptic drugs, anti-inflammatory agents) and in many cases cysticidal drugs, either albendazole or praziquantel. In recent years, efforts have focused on transmission control and potential elimination in endemic regions.

Prevention of Bug Bites, Stings, and Disease

Prevention of Bug Bites, Stings, and Disease
Author: Daniel Strickman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 438
Release: 2009-04-23
Genre: Science
ISBN: 019536578X

This book provides anyone, anywhere with the information they need to prevent bites and stings from scorpions, spiders, mites, ticks, centipedes, lice, and other such creatures.

Bitten

Bitten
Author: Pamela Nagami
Publisher:
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2007-09-01
Genre:
ISBN: 9781422390269

Snake bites cause 40,000 deaths each year! 700 million people annually contract disease from mosquito bites! Snakes, spiders, crocodiles, jellyfish, cats, dogs & even humans, nearly every creature that can sting or bite appears in this book. All inflict pain, transmit a host of nasty diseases or worse -- from the instant death of the cone snail¿s sting to the lingering agony of the parasite Leishmania, which lives in mucus & can collapse the nose. Using reports from medical journals & anecdotes from her career, Nagami presents a fascinating history of some of the most critical cases & how the anti-venoms & cures were found. ¿A frighteningly vivid & compulsively readable book full of potentially life-saving facts.¿