Abstract
In patients affected by neurocysticercosis (NCC), the extraparenchymal location of the parasites generates the most severe form of the disease. Due to the difficulty in its diagnosis and management, there are still many questions; in particular, the natural history of parasites at this location is not well known. We included 21 patients with vesicular extraparenchymal NCC who had not received treatment for at least 18months. We collected their demographic and clinical data, compared their imaging studies at the beginning and the end of the period without treatment and classified the patients, taking into account the evolution of their parasitic burden. A total of 10 men and 11 women were included. Patients had undergone a period of 63±48months without treatment. During this period, 8 patients (38.1%) showed an increase, 7 (33.3%) a decrease and 6 (28.6%) showed no change in parasite burden. The natural history of extraparenchymal cysticerci is heterogeneous. The results show the ability of parasites to survive for a long time in the extraparenchymal location and explain the chronicity of the disease in some patients. The links between these findings and the difficulties in the therapeutic management of extraparenchymal NCC patients should be studied.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
