Difficulty in diagnosing a case with apparent sequel cerebral sparganosis.
BACKGROUND
We report on a case of cerebral sparganosis that was correctly identified by a biopsy 10 years after the initial infection.


METHODS
A 62-year-old man presented with an unusual case of cerebral sparganosis mansoni. He was admitted to our hospital for removal of a right frontal meningioma. Computed tomographic scan and MRI of the brain showed atrophy of the left cerebral hemisphere, enlargement of the lateral ventricle, and several small ring-enhanced lesions in the left frontal lobe. The patient had suffered from motor aphasia and right hemiparesis for 10 years; in addition, he had been treated for cerebral infarction. We performed a left frontal biopsy, during which we also removed the meningioma. The histologic diagnosis was cerebral sparganosis mansoni.


CONCLUSIONS
The follow-up CT findings after the patient's first attack were thought to be characteristic of cerebral sparganosis mansoni. However, the radiographic findings were difficult to differentiate from those of neoplasias.
Murata
Kumi
K
Department of Neurosurgery, Oita University School of Medicine, Yufu, Oita 879-5593, Japan.
Abe
Tatsuya
T
Gohda
Makoto
M
Inoue
Ryo
R
Ishii
Keisuke
K
Wakabayashi
Yukihiro
Y
Kamida
Tohru
T
Fujiki
Minoru
M
Kobayashi
Hidenori
H
Takaoka
Hiroyuki
H
D020809:Central Nervous System Helminthiasis / Q000473:pathology*; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013031:Sparganosis / Q000473:pathology*; D013997:Time Factors