Neurocysticercosis

Abstract

Neurocysticercosis, the most common helminthic infection of the nervous system, is a major cause of acquired epilepsy worldwide. The disease occurs when humans become intermediate hosts of the tapeworm Taenia solium after ingesting its eggs by contagion from an asymptomatic Taenia carrier. Within the nervous system, parasites may locate in brain parenchyma, subarachnoid space, ventricular system, or spinal cord, causing several pathological changes that are responsible for the clinical pleomorphism of the disease. Seizures are the most common clinical manifestation, but a sizable proportion of patients develop focal deficits, intracranial hypertension, or cognitive decline. Preoperative diagnosis of neurocysticercosis is possible after proper integration of data from neuroimaging studies and immunological tests. Cysticidal drugs (albendazole and praziquantel) have changed the prognosis of most patients with neurocysticercosis. The use of these drugs has shown to reduce the parasite load within the central nervous system and to improve the clinical prognosis of the disease in many cases. Future studies should focus on disease eradication through the implementation of control programs against all the interrelated steps in the life cycle of T solium, including human carriers of the adult tapeworm, infected pigs, and eggs in the environment.

Neurocysticercosis Presenting as Bipolar Disorder and Chronic Papilledema: A Rare Case Report and Review

“…Seizures are the most common clinical manifestation, while headache and focal neurological deficits may occur in 20-40% of affected patients [6]. Confusion, ataxia, and psychosis are seen in fewer than 10% of cases.…”

Lumbar spinal intradural neurocysticercosis: A case report

“…In the normal cycle of transmission, the adult T. solium inhabits the small intestine of humans, and gravid proglottids are detached from the distal end of the worm and are passed with the feces to the environment (2). When pigs feed on human feces containing T. solium eggs, the eggs subsequently lose their coats and liberate oncospheres, which are infective to humans (2). Thus, humans who eat improperly cooked infected pork meat may themselves become infected (2).…”

“…Humans are the only definitive hosts for the adult tapeworm, whereas both pigs and humans may act as intermediate hosts for the larval form, called cysticercus (2). In the normal cycle of transmission, the adult T. solium inhabits the small intestine of humans, and gravid proglottids are detached from the distal end of the worm and are passed with the feces to the environment (2). When pigs feed on human feces containing T. solium eggs, the eggs subsequently lose their coats and liberate oncospheres, which are infective to humans (2).…”

A Case of Neurocysticercosis Clinically Mimicking Epilepsy: Report from Remote Hilly Area of Bangladesh

“…It is considered a common infection of the nervous system and is known to be the primary cause of preventable epilepsy in many developing countries [2][3][4] . Epidemiologic studies have demonstrated tight clustering household or household contacts with NCC patients have three times higher risk having positive serology for cysticercosis compared with controls 5 .…”