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CYSTICERCOSIS IN CHRONIC PSYCHIATRIC INPATIENTS FROM A VENEZUELAN COMMUNITY

Cysticercosis due to Taenia solium infection is endemic in developing countries of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. This study was designed to establish the prevalence of cysticercosis in 158 inpatients of a psychiatric institution in the state of Tachira (Venezuela) and in 127 healthy control subjects. Positive blood tests for cysticercosis by Western blotting were recorded in 18.35% of the patients and in 1.57% of the controls. Individuals with mental retardation were found to carry an increased risk of cysticercosis (RR: 2.92; 1.22 < 2.92 > 7.0; P < 0.05) compared with patients with other psychiatric disorders. Taeniasis by Taenia spp. was not demonstrated in the patient group, although a high incidence of infection by other helminths (95.1%) was detected. The high prevalence of cysticercosis in the psychiatric inpatient group, compared with healthy individuals, and the lack of a differential diagnosis of neurocysticercosis suggest cerebral cysticercosis in a large proportion of these patients. Cysticercosis could be the origin of the psychiatric disorders of these patients and may also be due to contact with the parasite in an environment with poor hygiene conditions and a deficient health care system.

Received August 28, 2004. Accepted for publication April 6, 2005.

Acknowledgments: The authors thank all the subjects who participated in our study and Drs. Jose M. Bautista and Jose R. Regueiro for their helpful suggestions.

Financial support: This study was supported by the National Foundation of Science, Technology, and Innovation (FONACIT) of the Ministry for Science and Technology, Caracas, Venezuela, grant S1-2000000669, and by the Committee for Scientific, Humanistic, and Technological Development of the University of Los Andes (CDCHT-ULA), grant NUTA-C-011-99-07-C.

^* Address correspondence to Néstor W. Meza, Integrated Laboratory of the School of Medicine of Táchira (LABIEMET), Universidad de Los Andes, Avenida Universidad, San Cristóbal, Venezuela, PO 5001. E-mail: nwmeza{at}vet.ucm.es

Authors’ addresses: Néstor W. Meza, Nineth E. Rossi, Tatiana N. Galeazzi, Nora M. Sánchez, Francisco I. Colmenares, Integrated Laboratory of the School of Medicine of Táchira (LABIEMET-ULA), Avenida Universidad, San Cristóbal, Venezuela, PO 5001, Telephone: 0058-276-3405109, Fax: 0058-276-3405103. Oscar D. Medina and Celso Arango, Department of Psychiatry, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañon, Madrid, Spain, Telephone: 0034-915-868133, Fax: 0034-914-265005. Néstor L. Uzcategui, Department of Biochemistry, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, Telephone: 0049 7071-297-3343, Fax: 0049 7071-29-5070. Nacarid Alfonso and Haideé Urdaneta, Institute of Clinical Immunology, Hospital Universitario, Merida, Venezuela, PO 5101, Telephone: 0058-274-2403185, Fax: 0058-274-2403212.

Reprint requests: Néstor Wenceslao Meza, Integrated Laboratory of the School of Medicine of Táchira (LABIEMET), Universidad de Los Andes, Avenida Universidad, San Cristóbal, Venezuela, PO 5001, Telephone: 0058-276-3405109, Fax: 0058-276-3405103, E-mail: nwmeza{at}vet.ucm.es. Haideé Urdaneta, Institute of Clinical Immunology, University of Los Andes (IDIC-ULA), Hospital Universitario, Merida, Venezuela, PO 5101, Telephone: 0058-274-2403185, Fax: 0058-274-2403212, E-mail: hurdaneta84{at}hotmail.com.