Saturday, November 22, 2014

Rare Tapeworm Found Inside a Patient's Brain and Sequenced



A man of Chinese origin living in UK for 20 years having symptoms of headaches, seizures, altered smell and memory impairment was found to have a rare species of tapeworm, Spirometra erinaceieuropaei, residing in his brain. The species of this tapeworm was determined by sequencing its entire genome from a sample of the worm taken from the patient's brain. This species is most commonly found in China, South Korea, Thailand, and Japan. This 1.26 billion base pair genome was the largest genome sequenced for any flatworm.

Sequencing this genome led to great knowledge of resistance to tapeworm treatments in a variety of tapeworms. Also by knowing what resistance these tapeworms have built up, it was found that other disease-treating drugs are beneficial in fighting infections caused by the tapeworms in this family.

Original Article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141120204558.htm
Related Article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130828103351.htm

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