IMPACT OF AN ANTI-HELMINTHIC TREATMENT ON THE COURSE OF EPILEPSY IN THE NEUROPSYCHIATRY DEPARTMENT OF ALEXANDRIA IN EGYPT : A LINK BETWEEN ASCARIDIASIS AND EPILEPSY ?

ASSOCIATION ENTRE TRAITEMENT DE L'ASCARIDIOSE ET DIMINUTION DE LA FREQUENCE DES CRISES CHEZ LES PATIENTS EPILEPTIQUES A ALEXANDRIE (EGYPTE) RESUME Description et objectif: ce travail recherche une association entre ascaridiose et epilepsie. Methodes: une etude d'impact du traitement anti-helminthique a ete realisee dans le service de Neuropychiatrie d'un hopital general d'Alexandrie en Egypte. Resultats: 537 patients epileptiques ont ete inclus. Le niveau d'infection d'ascaridiose etait severe a modere pour 68 % d'entre eux. Apres traitement anti-helminthique, le nombre moyen de crises d'epilepsie partielle s'est reduit de 10 % (p Conclusion: cette etude donne des arguments indirects incitant a poursuivre les etudes epidemiologiques ou physiopathologiques a la recherche d'un lien causal entre ascaridiose et epilepsie. SUMMARY Background and objective: this work looks for a link between ascaridiasis and epilepsy. Methods: This work has looked for the impact of an anti-helminthic treatment on the course of epilepsy and was performed in the Neuropsychiatry department of a general hospital of Alexandria in Egypt. Results: 537 patients with epilepsy have been included. The level of ascaridiasis infection was severe to moderate for 68 % of them. After anti-helminthic treatment, the average number of partial epilepsy fits has reduced in 10 % (p Conclusion: this study gives indirect arguments prompting to continue epidemiological or pathophysiological studies in search of a correlation between ascaridiasis and epilepsy. Keywords : Afrique, ascaridiose, Egypte, epilepsie, Africa, ascaridiasis, Egypt, epilepsy African Journal of Neurological Sciences Vol.23(2) 2004