Increased Prevalence of Antibodies to Hepatitis E Virus in Patients with Neurocysticercosis.

We explored the association between serological status for hepatitis E and neurocysticercosis (NCC) in neurologic patients attending a national neurological referral center in Lima, Perú, between the years 2008 and 2012. Anti-hepatitis E antibodies were evaluated in patients with and without NCC, and a control group of rural general population. Anti-hepatitis E IgG was found in 23.8% of patients with NCC, compared with 14.3% in subjects without NCC from a general rural population (P = 0.023) and 14.4% in subjects with neurological complaints without NCC (P = 0.027). Seropositive patients had a median age of 44 years compared with 30 years in seronegative patients (P <0.001). No significant differences in sex, region of residence, or liver enzyme values were found. Seropositivity to hepatitis E was frequent in this Peruvian population and higher in patients with NCC, suggesting shared common routes of infection.

Disability evaluation in patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome and SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Objective: Several cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection have been described. This study illustrated the demographic, clinical, and neurophysiological characteristics of patients with GBS and COVID-19, as well as associated factors with disability at discharge. Materials and methods: A retrospective analytical observational study was conducted. It included patients diagnosed with GBS admitted in a national reference center in Peru between 2019 and 2021. Epidemiological, clinical, neurophysiological, and cerebrospinal fluid data were analyzed. A multivariate analysis, using the generalized linear model, was performed, considering the presence of disability at discharge as the dependent variable. Results: Eight-one subjects diagnosed with GBS were included. The mean age was 46.8 years (SD: 15.2), with a predominance of males (61.73%). The most frequent clinical presentation was the classic sensory-motor form in 74 cases (91.36%) with AIDP (82.35%) as the most frequent neurophysiological pattern in the group with COVID-19, while AMAN pattern predominated (59.26%) in those without COVID-19 (p = <0.000). The disability prevalence ratio at discharge between subjects with COVID-19 and those without COVID-19 was 1.89 (CI 1.06-3.34), p = 0.030, adjusted for age, sex, and neurophysiological subtype. Conclusion: The neurophysiologic subtype AIDP, and a higher disability were associated with the presence of COVID-19.