Exposure to Toxocara Canis is not Associated with New-Onset Epilepsy.

Purpose: The association between exposure to Toxocara canis and epilepsy is at the best contentious. Most of previous studies were retrospective, community-based, and contradictory to one another. As the impact of a positive association on the magnitude of epilepsy will be huge especially in developing countries where toxocariasis is common owing to poor hygienic practices, this study was carried out to determine whether exposure to T. canis predisposes to development of epilepsy. Patients and Methods: This case-controlled observational study was carried out a tertiary healthcare center in North India on 120 patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy who presented within 3 months of diagnosis. A total of 120 age- and sex-matched individuals from the same community were chosen as controls. Epilepsy was defined according to ILAE 1993 definition. Serological testing for T. canis was carried out using commercially available ELISA kits. All the positive samples were subjected to Western blot testing for confirmation. Results: The prevalence of antibodies to T. canis was similar in cases (16/120; 13.3%) and controls (16/120; 13.3%). Among the various risk factors, history of pica was significantly associated with T. canis seropositivity, while lack of hand washing was significantly associated with higher risk of epilepsy. Conclusion: Our study could not find any association between exposure to T. canis and epilepsy.

Prevalence of Epilepsy and its Association with Exposure to Toxocara canis: A Community Based, Case-control Study from Rural Northern India.

OBJECTIVES: Many community-based and hospital-based studies across the world have yielded contradictory results regarding association of positive Toxocara canis serology and epilepsy. The present study was planned to analyze disease burden of epilepsy in rural community of North India and its association with exposure to T. canis in this part of the world. METHODS: A door-to-door screening survey was carried out in the rural community using a validated questionnaire for epilepsy by trained field workers, which was finally confirmed by trained neurologists. The risk factors for epilepsy and for predisposing infections were also enquired. The results were compared with an equal number of age- and sex-matched healthy controls enrolled from the same community. Serologic evaluation was carried out to detect antibodies against T. canis. RESULTS: A total of 41,973 persons from the rural community in 49 villages were enrolled in the study. Two hundred and eleven persons were confirmed to be suffering from active epilepsy, resulting in a crude prevalence of 5 per 1000 population. More than 50% of people with epilepsy were in the second or third decade of life. The prevalence of antibodies to T. canis was similar in people with epilepsy (13.7%; 29 of 211 individuals) and controls (9.95%; 21 of 211 individuals). Of the 151 persons with epilepsy, who underwent CT scan, 34 people (22.3%) had evidence of inflammatory granuloma, thereby confirming high incidence of this infestation in rural Northern India. SIGNIFICANCE: Our study does not support the association between epilepsy and exposure to T. canis in rural Northern Indian population.