Neurocysticercosis as the main cause of late-onset epilepsy in Mexico

Article Abstract:

Idiopathic epilepsy, or epilepsy of unknown cause, begins more frequently during childhood and adolescence than adulthood. However, late-onset epilepsy (LOE) causes 20 to 25 percent of seizures in persons older than age 25. Studies have shown that LOE is often associated with certain disease processes, such as brain tumors, cerebrovascular disease affecting the circulation within the brain, head injury, and alcoholism. However, these reports were from developed countries, and LOE may be associated with other types of diseases in developing countries such as Mexico, where the prevalence of infectious and parasitic diseases of the nervous system is high. The causes of LOE in a Mexican population were assessed. One hundred Mexican patients with epilepsy which developed after the age of 25 years underwent the following evaluations: clinical tests; computed tomography, an X-ray method that shows detailed images of structures in a selected plane of tissue by blurring images of structures in all other planes; and electroencephalography, the measurement of brain electrical activity. The cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord was analyzed in 82 patients. Neurocysticercosis, which is the infestation of nerves by cysticercus, the encapsulated larval form of a tapeworm, was diagnosed in 50 of 100 patients. This high incidence contrasts with the lower rate of neurocysticercosis reported in studies from other countries. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Health aspects, Diagnosis, Mexico, Epilepsy, Cysticercosis

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Three patients who spontaneously developed persistent hypothyroidism during or following treatment with antithyroid drugs for Graves' hyperthyroidism

Article Abstract:

Reports are presented of three patients who were treated for Graves' disease and subsequently developed hypothyroidism (under-active thyroid). Graves' disease involves hyperthyroidism (over-active thyroid), and is considered to be an autoimmune disorder, arising from a failure or malfunction of the body's immune system. The hyperthyroidism which accompanies Graves' disease may be followed by hypothyroidism; this sequence may be rapid, as seen in one patient, or it may be slow, taking up to 10 years to occur. The subjects' thyroids were biopsied, and the combination of these results and endocrine function tests indicated that different mechanisms may be at work. Although the mechanisms of Graves' disease and subsequent hypothyroidism are not known, the authors suggest two mechanisms to account for these clinical observations. The first is that antibodies against the receptor for the thyroid stimulating hormone may interfere with the tissue's normal response. A second possibility is that autoimmune thyroid destruction may occur, resulting in abruptly or slowly progressing hypothyroidism. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Research, Complications and side effects, Drug therapy, Autoimmune diseases, Hypothyroidism, Thyroid diseases, Graves' disease

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