title: Cysticercosis lesions in basal ganglia are common but clinically silent.
abstract: Movement disorders due to basal ganglia involvement by neurocysticercosis are rarely seen. To evaluate the frequency of basal ganglia location of cysticercotic cysts and its clinical manifestations, baseline MRI scans of 120 consecutive patients with active neurocysticercosis were reviewed and the presence and number of active cysticercosis lesions (viable cysts or enhancing lesions) in the basal ganglia were recorded and correlated with demographic and clinical data. Basal ganglia involvement was found in 32 cases (26.7%). The frequency of lesions in basal ganglia was related to the total number of lesions, ranging from 5% of patients with a single cysticerci, to 60% in patients with more than five parasites. Putamen and caudate nuclei were the most frequent sites of lesions. No significant difference between both hemispheres was observed. Basal ganglia localization is common in neurocysticercosis but it is rarely associated with clinical manifestations.
authors.affiliation: Movement Disorders Unit, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurológicas. Jr. Ancash 1271, Barrios Altos, 1, Lima, Peru. cosenti@terra.com.pe
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cosentino
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Velez
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: Hector H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Garcia
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001480:Basal Ganglia Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D020019:Neurocysticercosis / Q000150:complications / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies