Neurocisticercose

Abstract

It has been estimated that 50 million people are infected with the taeniasis/cysticercosis complex in the world today and that 50,000 die each year. It also appears that 350,000 individuals remain infected in Latin America. In Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, neurocysticercosis has been identified in 7.5% of the patients admitted to a ward specialized in the treatment of neurologic diseases. Its clinical manifestations comprise seizures, intracranial hypertension, cysticercotic meningitis, psychiatric symptoms, apoplectic or endarteritic form, and spinal cord syndrome. Lethality of neurocysticercosis varies from 16.4% to 25.9%. Diagnosis is dependent on the results of computed tomography of the brain and examination of the cerebrospinal fluid. Lately, albendazole in association with steroids has been elected the treatment of choice for neurocysticercosis. In the authors' opinion, compulsory notification of cases and preventive measures should be implemented. In Brazil, in the absence of a centralized program of control, regional initiatives should be stimulated, keeping in mind WHO's advice: "Think globally, act locally".

Caracterização das lesões por Cysticercus bovis, na inspeção post mortem de bovinos, pelos exames macroscópico, histopatológico e pela reação em cadeia da polimerase (PCR)

“…Considerando a maior prevalência de teníase por T. saginata (Dias et al 1991, Esteves et al 2005, bem como a similaridade morfológica entre T. saginata e T. asiatica (Eom & Rim, 1993, Fan et al 1995, que é considerada exótica no país, aliadas à endemicidade de cisticercose humana em muitos estados brasileiros (Machado et al 1988, Agapejev 1996, Takayanagui & Leite 2001, Mendes et al 2005 e às baixas taxas de ocorrência da cisticercose suína (Alves 2000, Flavigna-Guilherme et al 2006), ao contrário do que se observa em bovinos, torna-se imperiosa a necessidade de aprofundar as análises moleculares, com vistas ao esclarecimento de muitos pontos controversos que permanecem no universo cientíϐico, a começar com a possibilidade dos ovos de T. saginata causarem cisticercose no homem, conforme admitiram Santos (1996) e outros autores citados por Pardi et al (2001). Quanto à identiϐicação de C. bovis nos diversos sítios anatômicos estudados, mais uma vez destaca-se a importância de se tornar rotina nos matadouros, os exames de esôfago e ϐígado, pois os resultados encontrados na PCR conϐirmaram o diagnóstico ambulatorial feito nessas localizações.…”

Bruns' syndrome and racemose neurocysticercosis: a case report

“…Despite the advances in diagnosis and therapy, NCC remains endemic in most low-income countries 2 . It is estimated that 50 million people in the world today are infected by the taeniasiscysticercosis complex and 50,000 die every year 3 .…”

Evaluation of an enzyme immunoassay for clinical diagnosis of neurocysticercosis in symptomatic patients

“…These are related to factors, including: its location in the nervous tissue itself, within the ventricles or the subarachnoid cistern; and the size and number of lesions and their stage of development, which reflect its biological activity or inactivity. In addition to these factors that are intrinsic to the parasite and the number of infections suffered by the host, the strength of the host's immune defense is also important and sometimes leads to diagnostic difficulties 2,[5][6][7][8] .…”