Nodding syndrome, western Uganda, 1994

Nodding syndrome (NS) is a poorly understood condition, which was delineated in 2008 as a new epilepsy syndrome. So far, confirmed cases of NS have been observed in three circumscribed African areas: southern Tanzania, southern Sudan, and northern Uganda. Case-control studies have provided evidence of an association between NS and infection with Onchocerca volvulus, but the causation of NS is still not fully clarified. We report a case of a 15-year old boy with head nodding seizures and other characteristic features of NS from an onchocerciasis endemic area in western Uganda, with no contiguity to the hitherto known areas. We suggest that the existence of NS should be systematically investigated in other areas.