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Study of evoked potentials in human African trypanosomiasis
1Institut d'Epidémiologie Neurologique et de Neurologie Tropicale, Limoges, France.
The Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
|August 1, 1992
Summary
Neurological involvement in sleeping sickness (Human African trypanosomiasis) shows normal brainstem auditory and visual evoked potentials early on. Sleep disturbances likely stem from functional changes in sleep centers, not specific anatomical lesions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Tropical Medicine
- Pathophysiology
Background:
- Human African trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness, involves neurological complications.
- Early meningoencephalitis presents with sleep disturbances and reduced wakefulness.
- The exact pathogenesis of sleeping sickness remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neurological pathways affected in early-stage sleeping sickness.
- To correlate evoked potentials with neurological symptoms like sleep disturbances.
Main Methods:
- Studied 16 patients with early-stage sleeping sickness meningoencephalitis.
- Assessed auditory, visual, sensory, and motor evoked potentials.
- Specifically evaluated brain-stem auditory evoked response (BAER) and pattern-reversal visual evoked response (PVER).
Main Results:
- BAER and PVER were normal in all patients.
- Somatosensory evoked response (SSER) or motor evoked response (MER) abnormalities were found in only five patients, with unconfirmed relevance.
- Evoked potential pathways, particularly in the brain-stem, appeared intact early in the disease.
Conclusions:
- Early-stage sleeping sickness shows intact major sensory and motor pathways.
- Sleep disturbances and decreased wakefulness are likely due to functional changes in sleep centers.
- No definitive anatomical lesions were detected in the evaluated pathways.