Title:Helminth Infections and Cardiovascular Diseases: Toxocara Species is Contributing to the Disease
Volume: 13
Issue: 1
Author(s): Mohammad Zibaei
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Toxocariasis, cardiovascular, visceral larva migrans, epidemiology.
Abstract: Toxocariasis is the clinical term used to describe human infection with either the dog ascarid
Toxocara canis or the feline ascarid Toxocara cati. As with other helminths zoonoses, the infective
larvae of these Toxocara species cannot mature into adults in the human host. Instead, the
worms wander through organs and tissues, mainly the liver, lungs, myocardium, kidney and central
nervous system, in a vain attempt to find that, which they need to mature into adults. The migration
of these immature nematode larvae causes local and systemic inflammation, resulting in the “larva
migrans” syndrome. The clinical manifestations of toxocariasis are divided into visceral larva migrans,
ocular larva migrans and neurotoxocariasis. Subclinical infection is often referred to as covert
toxocariasis. One of the primary causes of death all around the world is cardiovascular disease that
accounted for up to 30 percent of all-cause mortality. Cardiovascular disease and more precisely
atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, is predicted to remain the single leading cause of death (23.3
million deaths by 2030). A-quarter of people presenting the disease does not show any of the known
cardiovascular risk factors. Therefore, there is considerable interest in looking for novel components
affecting cardiovascular health, especially for those that could improve global cardiovascular risk
prediction. This review endeavours to summarize the clinical aspects, new diagnostic and therapeutic
perspectives of toxocaral disease with cardiovascular manifestations.
