Research on motor neuron diseases konzo and neurolathyrism: trends from 1990 to 2010.
Konzo (caused by consumption of improperly processed cassava, Manihot esculenta) and neurolathyrism (caused by prolonged overconsumption of grass pea, Lathyrus sativus) are two distinct non-infectious upper motor neurone diseases with identical clinical symptoms of spastic paraparesis of the legs. T...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:3acb4b7b3c824eb78e7a08d3714b7a4d 2023-05-15T15:14:31+02:00 Research on motor neuron diseases konzo and neurolathyrism: trends from 1990 to 2010. Delphin Diasolua Ngudi Yu-Haey Kuo Marc Van Montagu Fernand Lambein 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0001759 https://doaj.org/article/3acb4b7b3c824eb78e7a08d3714b7a4d EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/22860149/pdf/?tool=EBI https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0001759 https://doaj.org/article/3acb4b7b3c824eb78e7a08d3714b7a4d PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 6, Iss 7, p e1759 (2012) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2012 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0001759 2022-12-31T07:27:28Z Konzo (caused by consumption of improperly processed cassava, Manihot esculenta) and neurolathyrism (caused by prolonged overconsumption of grass pea, Lathyrus sativus) are two distinct non-infectious upper motor neurone diseases with identical clinical symptoms of spastic paraparesis of the legs. They affect many thousands of people among the poor in the remote rural areas in the central and southern parts of Africa afflicting them with konzo in Ethiopia and in the Indian sub-continent with neurolathyrism. Both diseases are toxico-nutritional problems due to monotonous consumption of starchy cassava roots or protein-rich grass pea seeds as a staple, especially during drought and famine periods. Both foods contain toxic metabolites (cyanogenic glycosides in cassava and the neuro-excitatory amino acid β-ODAP in grass pea) that are blamed for theses diseases. The etiology is also linked to the deficiency in the essential sulfur amino acids that protect against oxidative stress. The two diseases are not considered reportable by the World Health Organization (WHO) and only estimated numbers can be found. This paper analyzes research performance and determines scientific interest in konzo and neurolathyrism. A literature search of over 21 years (from 1990 to 2010) shows that in terms of scientific publications there is little interest in these neglected motorneurone diseases konzo and neurolathyrism that paralyze the legs. Comparison is made with HTLV-1/TSP, an infectious disease occurring mainly in Latin America of which the clinical manifestation is similar to konzo and neurolathyrism and requires a differential diagnosis. Our findings emphasize the multidisciplinary nature of studies on these neglected diseases, which however have not really captured the attention of decision makers and project planners, especially when compared with the infectious HTLV-1/TSP. Konzo and neurolathyrism can be prevented by a balanced diet. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Indian PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 6 7 e1759 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Delphin Diasolua Ngudi Yu-Haey Kuo Marc Van Montagu Fernand Lambein Research on motor neuron diseases konzo and neurolathyrism: trends from 1990 to 2010. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
Konzo (caused by consumption of improperly processed cassava, Manihot esculenta) and neurolathyrism (caused by prolonged overconsumption of grass pea, Lathyrus sativus) are two distinct non-infectious upper motor neurone diseases with identical clinical symptoms of spastic paraparesis of the legs. They affect many thousands of people among the poor in the remote rural areas in the central and southern parts of Africa afflicting them with konzo in Ethiopia and in the Indian sub-continent with neurolathyrism. Both diseases are toxico-nutritional problems due to monotonous consumption of starchy cassava roots or protein-rich grass pea seeds as a staple, especially during drought and famine periods. Both foods contain toxic metabolites (cyanogenic glycosides in cassava and the neuro-excitatory amino acid β-ODAP in grass pea) that are blamed for theses diseases. The etiology is also linked to the deficiency in the essential sulfur amino acids that protect against oxidative stress. The two diseases are not considered reportable by the World Health Organization (WHO) and only estimated numbers can be found. This paper analyzes research performance and determines scientific interest in konzo and neurolathyrism. A literature search of over 21 years (from 1990 to 2010) shows that in terms of scientific publications there is little interest in these neglected motorneurone diseases konzo and neurolathyrism that paralyze the legs. Comparison is made with HTLV-1/TSP, an infectious disease occurring mainly in Latin America of which the clinical manifestation is similar to konzo and neurolathyrism and requires a differential diagnosis. Our findings emphasize the multidisciplinary nature of studies on these neglected diseases, which however have not really captured the attention of decision makers and project planners, especially when compared with the infectious HTLV-1/TSP. Konzo and neurolathyrism can be prevented by a balanced diet. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Delphin Diasolua Ngudi Yu-Haey Kuo Marc Van Montagu Fernand Lambein |
author_facet |
Delphin Diasolua Ngudi Yu-Haey Kuo Marc Van Montagu Fernand Lambein |
author_sort |
Delphin Diasolua Ngudi |
title |
Research on motor neuron diseases konzo and neurolathyrism: trends from 1990 to 2010. |
title_short |
Research on motor neuron diseases konzo and neurolathyrism: trends from 1990 to 2010. |
title_full |
Research on motor neuron diseases konzo and neurolathyrism: trends from 1990 to 2010. |
title_fullStr |
Research on motor neuron diseases konzo and neurolathyrism: trends from 1990 to 2010. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Research on motor neuron diseases konzo and neurolathyrism: trends from 1990 to 2010. |
title_sort |
research on motor neuron diseases konzo and neurolathyrism: trends from 1990 to 2010. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0001759 https://doaj.org/article/3acb4b7b3c824eb78e7a08d3714b7a4d |
geographic |
Arctic Indian |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Indian |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 6, Iss 7, p e1759 (2012) |
op_relation |
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/22860149/pdf/?tool=EBI https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0001759 https://doaj.org/article/3acb4b7b3c824eb78e7a08d3714b7a4d |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0001759 |
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PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
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6 |
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7 |
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e1759 |
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