title: Cerebral sparganosis: a diagnostic challenge.
abstract: Cerebral sparganosis is a rare cestode larval parasitic infestation of the nervous system. We report a 28-year-old female from South India with a temporo-occipital mass lesion, which mimicked a tuberculoma on imaging. She received antituberculous therapy for 7 months. Surgical excision of the mass revealed a parasitic abscess containing larval form of Sparganum mansoni. Cerebral sparganosis can closely mimic tuberculoma or neoplastic lesions. Hence, in areas endemic for tuberculosis, such as India, it is appropriate to suggest that histological diagnosis be sought in tuberculoma mimicking lesions, especially when the lesion is not responding to treatment.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Neurosurgery & Neuropathology, National Institute of Mental Health and NeuroSciences, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rengarajan
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nanjegowda
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bhat
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mahadevan
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sampath
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krishna
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000601:surgery; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004830:Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011859:Radiography; D013031:Sparganosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016862:Tuberculoma, Intracranial / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy