Parasitosis intestinales en pacientes con epilepsia de origen desconocido

Introduction: the epilepsy is an alteration of the central nervous system (CNS) which roughly affects 50 millions of persons worldwide; almost 85 % of them live in developing countries. Approximately 20 % of epilepsies are difficult to control or they are called refractory epilepsies. Taking into account the lack of Cuban reports about the behavior of intestinal parasitic infections in these patients, it was decided to carry out this research study in a group of epileptic patients with unknown etiology, from the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery in Havana. Objectives: to determine the prevalence and the clinical manifestations of intestinal parasitic infections, and the possible association of these infections with epilepsy refractory to the antiepileptic drugs. Methods: a questionnaire was applied and one fecal sample was taken per patient. Various parasitological techniques were implemented, including direct wet mount, Willis concentration technique, and Kato Katz quantitative procedure. Results: of the studied epileptic patients, 41.7 % were found infected by parasites or commensals, and diarrhea was the only clinical characteristic that prevailed in parasitized persons. The group of patients without epilepsy refractory to antiepileptic drugs had higher frequency of infections with commensal or protozoa with controversial pathogenicity. Conclusions: a high frequency of intestinal parasitic was observed in epileptic patients although just one sample was taken per person, and the protozoal infections prevailed over the helminthic infections. The comparison of the results from the group of patients with refractory epilepsy to antiepileptic drugs and the group without this condition may indicate a possible effect of this treatment over infections with commensal protozoa or of controversial pathogenicity. All this supports the continuity of studies about intestinal parasitic infection and their potential influence on antiepileptic treatment or vice versa.