Brain, Vol. 111, No. 3, 597-614, 1988
© 1988 Guarantors of Brain
research-article |
DISSEMINATED CYSTICERCOSIS
NEW OBSERVATIONS, INCLUDING CT SCAN FINDINGS AND EXPERIENCE WITH TREATMENT BY PRAZIQUANTEL
From the Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre Bombay, India
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to: Dr Noshir Wadia, Ben Nevis, B. Desai Road, Bombay 400 036, India.
Although the symptom complex of disseminated cysticercosis has been well recognized for over half a century, it is not clearly included in recent disease classifications. Three such patients are described whose main features were uncontrolled seizures, progressive dementia, behaviour disorder, muscular pseudohypertrophy, and a relative paucity of localizing neurological signs or signs of raised intracranial pressure. Radiographic calcification in muscles was not seen. A CT scan of the brain showed numerous small discrete lesions. Their attenuation density values were appreciably less than that of calcium and they enhanced slightly with contrast. Magnification revealed that these were scolices within cysticerci. There was no enhancement of the cyst wall and no pericystic oedema. CT scan of muscles showed similar cysticerci producing a ‘honeycomb’ appearance. This is the first CT demonstration of widely disseminated living cysticerci in brain and muscles. It was confirmed histologically. In the absence of palpable cysticerci, the clinical diagnosis can be missed, although no other disease in its full form presents in this manner. The symptoms are mainly caused by the space-occupying effect of the large number of cysticerci rather than by adjacent tissue swelling such as is seen in the presence of dying parasites. Praziquantel was ineffective and hazardous, causing some known and some previously unreported responses and reactions. All 3 patients died.
Received July 25, 1987. Accepted September 27, 1987.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  P NARANG, S CHHIBBER, and S K PURI Middle-aged man with altered behaviour and seizures Br. J. Radiol., December 1, 2008; 81(972): 984 - 986. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. Singhi, M. Ray, S. Singhi, and N. Khandelwal Clinical Spectrum of 500 Children With Neurocysticercosis and Response to Albendazole Therapy J Child Neurol, April 1, 2000; 15(4): 207 - 213. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 G. Y. Chang, D. Y. Ko, G. Hagemann, O. W. Witte, and B. Gottstein Isolated Echinococcus granulosus hydatid cyst in the CNS with severe reaction to treatment Neurology, February 8, 2000; 54(3): 778 - 778. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. K Pal, A. Carpio, and J. W A S Sander Neurocysticercosis and epilepsy in developing countries J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, February 1, 2000; 68(2): 137 - 143. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
H. H. Garcia and O. H. Del Brutto Heavy nonencephalitic cerebral cysticercosis in tapeworm carriers Neurology, October 22, 1999; 53(7): 1582 - 1582. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. Salgado, R. Rojas, and J. Sotelo Cysticercosis: Clinical Classification Based on Imaging Studies Arch Intern Med, September 22, 1997; 157(17): 1991 - 1997. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. K. Garg and A. Agrawal Medical Treatment for Cysticercosis Arch Neurol, April 1, 1996; 53(4): 295 - 295. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
O. H. Del Brutto Medical Treatment for Cysticercosis-Reply Arch Neurol, April 1, 1996; 53(4): 295 - 296. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|