Descripción del proyecto
Perfilar la posible vía infecciosa que conduce a la epilepsia de río
La enfermedad de Nodding, una forma de epilepsia fluvial, se describió por primera vez hace casi sesenta y cinco años. Esta enfermedad neurológica incurable, que afecta sobre todo a niños de entre cinco y quince años de edad, se caracteriza por movimientos bruscos de la cabeza (una forma de epilepsia) y puede provocar convulsiones tónico-clónicas y retrasos en el desarrollo y el crecimiento infantil. Por primera vez en la historia, podríamos estar vislumbrando la causa de este trastorno —y, por ende, su tratamiento preventivo—. Con la ilusión de avanzar hacia estos conocimientos, el equipo del proyecto NSETHIO, financiado por el Consejo Europeo de Investigación, pondrá en marcha un programa multinacional de investigación a largo plazo en busca de un posible microorganismo patógeno transportado por simúlidos, los vectores responsables de transmitir el gusano parasitario causante de la oncocercosis. El equipo estudiará el efecto asociado a los enfoques de control de vectores y a los fármacos antiparasitarios en la incidencia de la epilepsia de río en aquellas regiones del planeta donde la oncocercosis tiene un carácter endémico.
Objetivo
Nodding syndrome (NS) is a neurological, incurable syndrome, currently affecting mainly children between 5 and 15 years of age in South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania. Since 1950, when NS was first described, its cause has remained a mystery. NS is characterized by head-nodding (an atonic form of epilepsy), often followed by clonic - tonic seizures, developmental retardation and faltering growth. In the affected regions, NS is a major public health problem associated with severe socio-economic consequences. After exploratory missions to South Sudan, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), we gathered epidemiological evidence that supports the hypothesis that NS is a disease caused by a pathogen transmitted by blackflies, the vectors that transmit the parasitic worm that causes onchocerciasis. This pathogen could be an unknown neurotropic virus or another pathogen that is transmitted either independently or as a symbiont of the worm. We postulate that this pathogen is able to cause typical NS, but also other forms of epidemic epilepsy. We hypothesise that the same disease is also endemic in other onchocerciasis hyper-endemic regions e.g. in the Mbam valley, Cameroon and the Orientale Province, DRC (where it is referred to as “river epilepsy”). In this project we aim to investigate our hypotheses in South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Cameroon and the DRC with a trans-disciplinary approach including clinical-epidemiological, post-mortem, eco-entomological, and metagenomic studies. We will study the effect of vector control methods and ivermectin distribution on the incidence of river epilepsy. So far a multi-country study on NS was never done and nearly all previous studies were cross-sectional, carried out during short country visits. With this long term research plan we hope to finally discover the cause of NS and detect effective control strategies to decrease the incidence of epilepsy in onchocerciasis endemic areas.
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-ADG - Advanced GrantInstitución de acogida
2000 Antwerpen
Bélgica