Isolated amygdala neurocysticercosis in a patient presenting with déjà vu and olfactory auras. Case report.
Neurocysticercosis is the most common parasitic infection in the CNS and a leading cause of epilepsy. Since it is a circumscribed lesional cause of epilepsy, specific locations of neurocysticercal lesions may lead to specific clinical presentations. The authors describe a 17-year-old Hispanic boy who had a single enhancing bilobar mass in the right amygdala. Initially, the patient presented with secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizures, which resolved with antiepilepsy drug therapy. On further investigation, he was found to have persistent olfactory and déjà vu auras. A right amygdalectomy without hippocampectomy was performed, and both the seizures and auras immediately resolved. Pathological analysis revealed neurocysticercosis. To the authors' knowledge, this case is the first reported instance of 2 distinct mesial temporal aura semiologies associated with localized neurocysticercosis in the amygdala and successfully treated with resection. Uniquely, the case demonstrates that both olfactory and déjà vu auras can emanate from the amygdala.
Lee
Darrin J
DJ
Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
Owen
Christopher M
CM
Khanifar
Elham
E
Kim
Ronald C
RC
Binder
Devin K
DK
D000293:Adolescent; D000679:Amygdala; D003690:Deja Vu; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020019:Neurocysticercosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D055696:Olfactory Perception / Q000502:physiology*