DIAGNOSIS OF NEUROCYSTICERCOSIS

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Three years of support are requested for studies to develop improved methods for the diagnosis of cysticercosis with special emphasis on the diagnosis of neurocysticercosis. Preliminary studies demonstrate the utility of using an enzymed-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) for detection of antibodies in the serum of people infected with the larvae of Taenia solium. This assay is an improvement over existing sero-diagnostic procedures through optimization of the reagents. A major goal of the research is to identify antigens of larval T. solium which can improve the accuracy of serodiagnostic procedurees. The second principal goal of the study is to evaluate an ELISA procedure for detection and quantification of antigens of larvae in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of persons with neurocysticercosis. To accomplish this aspect of the research, approximately 20 neurocysticercotic patients per year will be identified and treated in the University Hospital of the Universidad de Antioquia in Medellin, Colombia. Sera and CSF will be collected prior to, during, and following therapy, and with the aid of CAT scans, possible correlations of number/volume of larvae and effectiveness of therapy determined using ELISA procedures. It is hoped that a simple, inexpensive ELISA kit can be developed for the diagnosis of neurocysticercosis.