Intramedullary cysticercosis

Intramedullary spinal cysticercosis: response to albendazole: case reports and review of literature

“…9,10 As haematogenous dissemination is proportional to the blood¯ow to the spinal cord, the thoracic cord which receives the greatest blood supply, is most often aected. 11 Fifty percent of cases in the autopsy series published by Souza Queiroz et al 5 were noted to have sites of involvement other than the spine. Of these 30% had intracerebral involvement and 25% had muscular involvement.…”

“…Although the hypothesis of ventriculo-ependymal spread is unsubstantiated, this may oer a plausible explanation for the frequent occurrence of solitary intramedullary cysts. 5,6 Pathology and clinical manifestations Pathophysiologically there are three possible mechanisms by which neurological symptoms and signs might appear in patients with spinal cysticercosis: (1) an in¯ammatory reaction caused by the metabolites of the parasite or degenerated larval remains; (2) the mass eect of intramedullary or extramedullary cysts (3) cord degeneration due to pachyleptomeningitis or vascular insuciency. In any individual with spinal cysticercosis, all three of these mechanisms may play a part.…”

Cisticercose intramedular: relato de caso

“…Atualmente são 45 os casos de cisticercose intramedular ( Tabela 1) 2 . Parece haver uma proporcionalidade entre o fluxo sanguíneo relativo a cada região da medula e a ocorrência de cisticercose intramedular 1,3,7 . Assim, predomina a localização torá-cica (55,1%), seguida pela cervical (24,1%) e finalmente pela lombossacra (20,6%) 3 .…”

“…As diferentes incidências entre o cérebro e a medula tornam evidente a presença de outros fatores. Dentre esses: o fluxo sanguíneo cerebral é cerca de cem vezes maior que o medular 7 ; os vasos da medula têm pequeno calibre e baixa pressão, não favorecendo fenômenos embólicos, e condições de expansibilidade ruins no tecido nervoso da medula quando comparado ao cérebro 3 . Achamos lícito supor que o tamanho dos diferentes segmentos medulares pode também estar relacionado com a incidência, ou seja, quanto maior o segmento maior a incidência, sendo portanto, maior na região torácica, seguida pela região cervical, lombar e sacral, assim como ocorre nas lesões neoplásicas.…”

Spinal cysticercosis. Case report and review

“…The progression of the spinal cord lesion is as follows: (1) inflammation due to the presence of the parasitic toxin;4 (2) mass effect with a SCCS, caused by the increase in the size of vesicles; and (3) arachnoiditis fibrosa, leading to medullary vascular insuf ficiency. 12 The rate of development of a SCCS depends on the level of the lesion or lesions, their size and location, and will be related to the diameter of the spinal canaland its relation to the diameter of the spinal canal at that level or levels. 12 In our patient the main lesion was in the upper thoracic region (T3/T4), where the vertebral canal is not wide, considering the size of the spinal cord there.…”