We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App




Screening Tool Simplifies Serological Diagnosis of Neurocysticercosis

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 24 Jul 2014
Print article
Image: Taenia solium cysticerci, which represent the larval or intermediate, immature developmental stages of this pork tapeworm (Photo courtesy of Dr. George R. Healy).
Image: Taenia solium cysticerci, which represent the larval or intermediate, immature developmental stages of this pork tapeworm (Photo courtesy of Dr. George R. Healy).
The availability of a rapid serological diagnosis that targets stage-specific antibodies for human cysticercosis is considered very helpful in control programs for estimating the sero-prevalence or burden of the disease in susceptible population groups.

Cysticercosis is a tissue infection caused by hatched oncospheres, a larval form of the pork tapeworm Taenia solium which parasitize the intestinal wall and circulate through the bloodstream, invade the nervous system and form cysts in the brain, leading to neurocysticercosis.

Medical parasitologists at the Leiden University Medical Center (The Netherlands) and their American colleagues developed a field-friendly screening tool to simplify serological diagnosis of neurocysticercosis. A total of 63 banked serum samples from patients with confirmed neurocysticercosis were used to validate the assay, and a total of 170 serum samples collected in regions where transmission of cysticercosis does not occur, were used to assess specificity. These samples consisted of a panel of 78 serum samples assembled from healthy residents of the USA and a panel of 92 serum samples from blood bank donors in the Netherlands.

The assay utilizes novel nano-sized up-converting phosphor (UCP) reporter particles in combination with a portable lightweight analyzer and detects antibodies in serum samples reactive with bacterial-expressed recombinant (r) T24H, a marker for detecting neurocysticercosis cases. Three sequential flow steps allow enrichment of antibodies on the Test (T) line and consecutive binding of protein-A coated UCP reporter particles. Antibody binding was determined by measuring 550-nm emission after excitation of the UCP label with a 980 nm infrared (IR) diode. Lateral flow (LF) strips were scanned using a multistrip scanner, modified Packard Fluorocount microplate reader (PerkinElmer; Waltham, MA, USA) and a customized ESEQuant lateral flow reader (LFR) (QIAGEN Lake Constance; Stockach, Germany).

The clinical sensitivity and specificity of the assay to detect cases of human neurocysticercosis with two or more viable brain cysts were 96% and 98%, respectively, using a sample set comprised of sera from 63 confirmed cases and 170 healthy parasite-naïve non-endemic controls. The evaluation of the new test with a set of clinical samples indicated excellent clinical parameters comparable to an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Application of new nano-sized UCP reporter label and a lightweight strip analyzer, both from easily accessible sources, demonstrated equivalent performance compared to previous studies. The study was published on July 3, 2014, in the journal Public Library of Science Neglected Tropical Diseases.


Related Links:

Leiden University Medical Center
PerkinElmer
QIAGEN


Gold Member
Pharmacogenetics Panel
VeriDose Core Panel v2.0
Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels
New
Silver Member
Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels
New
Respiratory Bacterial Panel
Real Respiratory Bacterial Panel 2

Print article

Channels

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: Researcher Kanta Horie places a sample in a mass spectrometer that measures protein levels in blood plasma and other fluids (Photo courtesy of WashU Medicine)

Highly Accurate Blood Test Diagnoses Alzheimer’s and Measures Dementia Progression

Several blood tests are currently available to assist doctors in diagnosing Alzheimer's disease in individuals experiencing cognitive symptoms. However, these tests do not provide insights into the clinical... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: The findings were based on patients from the ADAURA clinical trial of the targeted therapy osimertinib for patients with NSCLC with EGFR-activated mutations (Photo courtesy of YSM Multimedia Team)

Post-Treatment Blood Test Could Inform Future Cancer Therapy Decisions

In the ongoing advancement of personalized medicine, a new study has provided evidence supporting the use of a tool that detects cancer-derived molecules in the blood of lung cancer patients years after... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.