College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Centre of Tropical Neuroscience, Kitgum, Uganda.
Front Immunol. 2022 Feb 10;13:791488. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.791488. eCollection 2022.
Parasitic infections of the central nervous system are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Africa. The neurological, cognitive, and psychiatric sequelae of these infections result from a complex interplay between the parasites and the host inflammatory response. Here we review some of the diseases caused by selected parasitic organisms known to infect the nervous system including , , spp., and species. For each parasite, we describe the geographical distribution, prevalence, life cycle, and typical clinical symptoms of infection and pathogenesis. We pay particular attention to how the parasites infect the brain and the interaction between each organism and the host immune system. We describe how an understanding of these processes may guide optimal diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to treat these disorders. Finally, we highlight current gaps in our understanding of disease pathophysiology and call for increased interrogation of these often-neglected disorders of the nervous system.
中枢神经系统寄生虫感染是非洲发病率和死亡率的重要原因。这些感染的神经、认知和精神后遗症是寄生虫与宿主炎症反应之间复杂相互作用的结果。在这里，我们回顾了一些已知感染神经系统的寄生虫的疾病，包括 、 、 属、 和 种。对于每种寄生虫，我们描述了地理分布、流行率、生命周期以及感染的典型临床症状和发病机制。我们特别注意寄生虫如何感染大脑以及每种生物体与宿主免疫系统之间的相互作用。我们描述了对这些过程的理解如何指导治疗这些疾病的最佳诊断和治疗策略。最后，我们强调了我们对疾病病理生理学理解的当前差距，并呼吁加强对这些经常被忽视的神经系统疾病的研究。
