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Investigation of probable relationship between Toxoplasma gondii and cryptogenic epilepsy
Süleyman Yazar1, Fehim Arman, Saban Yalçin
1Department of Parasitology, Medical Faculty, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey. syazar@erciyes.edu.tr
Purpose:
Cryptogenic epilepsy, defines a group of epilepsy syndromes for which an aetiology is unknown but an underlying brain disease is suspected. We selected patients in this subgroup of epilepsy and investigated the sero-positivity rate for anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). We investigated the probable relationship between Toxoplasma gondii and cryptogenic epilepsy.
Methods:
We selected 50 patients with cryptogenic epilepsy, 50 patients with known cause epilepsy and 50 healthy volunteers and investigated the sero-positivity rate for anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies by ELISA.
Results:
The sero-positivity rate for anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies among cryptogenic epilepsy patients (52%) was found to be higher than healthy volunteers (18%) and known cause epilepsy patients (22%) with statistical significance, (X(2)=18.095, P<0.01).
Conclusion:
There might be a causal relationship between chronic toxoplasmosis and the aetiology of cryptogenic epilepsy.