The association between seizures and deposition of collagen in the brain in porcine Taenia solium neurocysticercosis

Nina Møller Christensen, Chiara Trevisan, Páll Skúli Leifsson, Maria Vang Johansen

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Neurocysticercosis caused by infection with Taenia solium is a significant cause of epilepsy and seizures in humans. The aim of this study was to assess the association between seizures and the deposition of collagen in brain tissue in pigs with T. solium neurocysticercosis. In total 78 brain tissue sections from seven pigs were examined histopathologically i.e. two pigs with epileptic seizures and T. solium cysts, four pigs without seizures but with cysts, and one non-infected control pig.
Pigs with epileptic seizures had a larger amount of collagen in their brain tissue, showing as large fibrotic scars and moderate amount of collagen deposited around cysts, compared to pigs without seizures and the negative control pig. Our results indicate that collagen is likely to play a considerable part in the pathogenesis of seizures in T. solium neurocysticercosis.
Original languageEnglish
JournalVeterinary Parasitology
Volume228
Pages (from-to)180-182
Number of pages2
ISSN0304-4017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Sep 2016

Cite this