Trust hails first Senior Fellow in Public Health and Tropical Medicine
29 August 2010
He will continue his work on the brain disease neurocysticercosis. The disease is the major cause of acquired epilepsy in low-income countries, and occurs when the larvae of the pork tapeworm Taenia solium enter the brain. Although the parasites die eventually, they can become calcified brain scars, and people can suffer seizures years later.
Recent research led by Prof. Garcia at the Institute of Neurological Sciences in Lima has shown that some scars become inflamed when patients have a new seizure, raising questions about the role of these scars in causing seizures. Prof. Garcia will investigate the contribution of neurocysticercosis to the burden of seizures in Peru, where the disease is endemic. He will also explore the characteristics of the inflamed brain scars and conduct a clinical trial to see whether steroids can reduce seizures in people with these scars.
