A critical unmet need
In contrast to idiopathic epilepsy, a complex disease which can be difficult to treat and resistant to cure, neurocysticercosis can be treated and in many cases cured with inexpensive and available anti-helminthic drugs. This makes differential diagnosis crucial.
Established procedures for diagnosing epilepsy comprise electroencephalography and MRI imaging—sophisticated tools with limited availability in developing regions where neurocysticercosis is most common. Neurocysticercosis can be diagnosed with a serological test that detects antibodies to T. solium cysts. The gold standard serological test, the Enzyme Immunotransfer Blot (EITB) developed at CDC, is not widely available and requires significant training to perform.
