Epilepsia Verminosa

Epilepsy is a major public health threat in the developing world, with much higher prevalence and incidence rates than those observed in developed countries. At present, one of the most common causes for epilepsy worldwide is the parasitic worm, Taenia solium, and the associated neurocysticercosis (NCC) that may often result from this infestation. Worm infestation was already recognized as a cause of epilepsy by the middle of the 18th century. Helminths and their effects on health were a daily medical concern in the 18th and 19th centuries--with prevailing views ranging from the beneficial effects of the presence of adult worms in the gut, to considering them as culprits for a wide variety of diseases. A number of cases followed longitudinally by various nineteenth-century French physicians showed that there was good reason to believe that the verminous influence on seizures was real, as the expulsion of the T. solium often coincided with a notable amelioration of symptoms. Several theories were proposed to account for how the worms could lead to Epilepsia nervosa, including notions of competition for nutritional resources between the host and the parasite, and irritation of the medulla and of peripheral nerve endings predisposing to epileptiform episodes. Recently, after almost a century of quiet, interest in the neurological effects of helminths has been rekindled, due in part to the growing number of cases in the United States with NCC-related neurological disorders. In this article, we review the history of our understanding of the relationship between seizure disorders and parasitic worms, and we relate this history to contemporary epidemiologic and public health issues in developing countries.     

From the School Yard to the Conservation Area: Impact Investment across the Nature/Social Divide

In the face of planetary crises, from inequality to biodiversity loss, “impact investing” has emerged as a vision for a new, “moral” financial system where investor dollars fund socio-environmental repair while simultaneously generating financial returns. In support of this system elite actors have formed a consensus that financial investments can have beneficial, more-than-financial outcomes aimed at solving social and environmental crises. Yet critical geographers have largely studied “green” and “social” finance separately. We propose, instead, a holistic geography of impact investing that highlights the common methods used in attempts to offset destructive investments with purportedly reparative ones. This involves interrogating how elite-led ideas of social and environmental progress are reflected in investments, as well as deconstructing the “objects” of impact investments. As examples, we use insights from both “green” and “social” literatures to analyse the social values embedded in projects of financialisation in schooling and affordable housing in the US.     

The Forces of Homology—Hirohito,Emperor of Japan and the 1928 Rites of Succession

In November 1928, Hirohito became the emperor of Japan through a series of rituals, beginning with the emperor's presentation to the world. Afterwards the emperor soul, transmitted from the sun goddess through the preceding generations of emperors to the current one, is rejuvenated and pacified by attaching different gods (kami) to it. Then, in his full presence as a living-kami, the new emperor enters a finely balanced structure to partake of sacred rice with the kami. Within the Japanese cosmos, the world at large, the domain of humankind, and the realm of the kami are situated along a continuum. In such a world, the forces of homology can, through meticulous ritual, connect between those realms and harness one plane for the improvement and augmentation of another. By means of the rites of succession, the emperor activates the forces of homology, yielding a dynamic yet precarious world, as the kami forces of peace and harmony are harnessed for the well-being of all Japan.     

Musical memory,heritage and local identity: remembering the popular music past in a European Capital of Culture

This paper explores the relationship between rock music, collective memory and local identity, by focusing on events connected to Liverpool's status as European Capital of Culture 2008. The first part of the paper describes these events and how memories of local rock music were attached to heritage and local identity and mobilised to validate Liverpool as a capital of culture, whilst in turn the city's Capital of Culture status served to validate particular ways of remembering the local musical past. The second part of the paper considers the broader significance of these events by relating them to three pan-European trends in cultural policy: the development of the cultural and heritage industries; the protection and promotion of local culture and identity; and the fostering of cultural diversity and integration. It highlights the general significance of the popular music past for cultural policy in Europe, but also the politics of popular music memory and how it involves a complex and dynamic process of negotiation that relates to cultural policy in particular ways. The paper concludes by arguing that popular music offers a specific and productive focus for research on cultural policy, heritage and local identity in Europe.     

Epilepsia Verminosa*

Epilepsy is a major public health threat in the developing world, with much higher prevalence and incidence rates than those observed in developed countries. At present, one of the most common causes for epilepsy worldwide is the parasitic worm, Taenia solium, and the associated neurocysticercosis (NCC) that may often result from this infestation. Worm infestation was already recognized as a cause of epilepsy by the middle of the 18th century. Helminths and their effects on health were a daily medical concern in the 18th and 19th centuries with prevailing views ranging from the beneficial effects of the presence of adult worms in the gut, to considering them as culprits for a wide variety of diseases. A number of cases followed longitudinally by various nineteenth-century French physicians showed that there was good reason to believe that the verminous influence on seizures was real, as the expulsion of the T. solium often coincided with a notable amelioration of symptoms. Several theories were proposed to account for how the worms could lead to Epilepsia nervosa, including notions of competition for nutritional resources between the host and the parasite, and irritation of the medulla and of peripheral nerve endings predisposing to epileptiform episodes. Recently, after almost a century of quiet, interest in the neurological effects of helminths has been rekindled, due in part to the growing number of cases in the United States with NCC-related neurological disorders. In this article, we review the history of our understanding of the relationship between seizure disorders and parasitic worms, and we relate this history to contemporary epidemiologic and public health issues in developing countries.