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A DRUG TRIAL CUT SOME NEUROCYSTICERCOSIS SEIZURES
THIS NEWSLETTER IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. NOTHING IN THIS CONTENT CONSTITUTES MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, OR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. ALWAYS CONSULT A QUALIFIED HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL BEFORE MAKING ANY HEALTH RELATED DECISIONS.
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OKAY BACK FROM THE PHARMACY 💊
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WHEN CYSTS BLOCK THE BRAIN'S FLUID 💧
Some Cysts Form Inside The Brain's Ventricles
Treatment Guidelines Link Cysts There To Raised Pressure In The Skull
Symptoms May Include Headaches Nausea Vomiting And Dizziness
Vision Changes And Confusion Can Also Appear
A Cyst Can Block The Fluid's Way Out Of A Ventricle
The Blockage Can Come And Go As The Head Changes Position
Cysts In The Fourth Ventricle Have Been Linked To Sudden Falls
In The Third Ventricle A Cyst Can Cause Sudden Loss Of Consciousness
Less Commonly Cysts Grow In The Fluid Spaces Around The Brain
There They Can Grow In Clusters Shaped Like Bunches Of Grapes
This Type Can Inflame The Brain's Lining And Leave Scar Tissue
The Scarring Can Block The Fluid And Cause A Buildup
Doctors Call That Buildup Hydrocephalus
Guidelines Say Ventricle Disease Has A High Case Fatality Rate
One Review Followed 23 Patients With Cysts In The Ventricles
They Came From 121 Patients Referred Between 1985 And 2017
At Worst It Says Untreated Blockage Forces Brain Tissue Out Of Place
10 Of Those 23 Received A Drainage Shunt
Four Shunts Failed And Three Of Those Failures Came From Infection
For Blocked Drainage Guidelines Advise Removing The Cyst Or Draining
Most Experts Avoid Antiparasitic Drugs Before Removing Such Cysts
The Drugs Could Cause Inflammation That Could Prevent Removal
Living Cysts In Brain Tissue Are A Different Case
Without Raised Pressure Guidelines Recommend The Drugs There
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WHAT THE TRIAL FOUND 📉
One Double Blind Trial Tested The Drugs Against Placebo
It Enrolled 120 Patients With Living Cysts In The Brain
Patients Were Randomly Assigned To Two Groups
60 Patients Got 10 Days Of Albendazole And The Steroid Dexamethasone
The Daily Doses Were 800 Milligrams And 6 Milligrams
Another 60 Got Two Placebos
Seizures Rose In The First Month According To A Journal Summary
That Summary Blamed The Rapid Killing Of Parasites
From Months 2 To 30 The Treated Group Had 46 Percent Fewer Seizures
That Reduction Was Not Statistically Significant
Partial Seizures Fell 41 Percent But That Was Not Significant Either
Seizures With Generalization Dropped 67 Percent
That Drop Was Statistically Significant
The Trial Also Counted Patients Who Had Such Seizures
In The Placebo Group 22 Of 59 Had Seizures With Generalization
With Albendazole It Was 13 Of 57
The Placebo Group Showed A Greater Tendency To Such Seizures
More Cystic Lesions Resolved With Albendazole Than With Placebo
The Journal Summary Reports Resolved Cysts Had Calcified By Year Two
Calcified Cysts Appeared In 62 Percent Of Treated Patients
The Figure Was 38 Percent For Patients On Placebo
Abdominal Pain Was The Only Side Effect That Differed Significantly
The Authors Concluded The Treatment Is Safe And Effective
They Said So At Least For Seizures With Generalization
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TREATING AND STOPPING IT 🛡️
WHO Says Destroying The Cysts May Trigger An Inflammatory Response
So It Calls For Specialized Treatment
That May Include Long High Dose Courses Of Antiparasitic Drugs
Steroids And Seizure Drugs May Be Given In Support
Dose And Length Depend Mainly On Cyst Number Size Location And Stage
Swelling Around The Cysts And Symptom Severity Matter Too
The Tapeworm In The Gut Can Be Treated Too
That Gut Infection Is Called Taeniasis
A Single Dose Of Praziquantel Or Niclosamide Can Treat It
In 2009 Experts Named Treating Taeniasis A Core Rapid Impact Measure
Vaccinating And Deworming Pigs Was The Other Core Measure
Hygiene And Food Safety Education Was Named As Support
So Was Better Sanitation That Ends Open Defecation
Deeper Changes Include Keeping Pigs From Roaming Free
Better Meat Inspection And Processing Are Also Listed
Control Needs Veterinary Human Health And Environmental Work
Models Of These Strategies Are Still Based On Many Assumptions
Even So They Usually Find Integrated Efforts Likelier To Work Faster
Epilepsy Is One Of The Most Common Signs Of Neurocysticercosis
WHO Says 70 Percent Of People With Epilepsy Could Live Normally
That Depends On Them Being Treated Correctly
Yet 75 Percent Of Them Are Treated Poorly If At All
Poverty And Lack Of Access To Medicine Are Among The Reasons
