title: Acute paraplegia caused by Schistosoma mansoni.
abstract: Schistosomiasis affects over 200 million people worldwide. Involvement of the CNS is a rare occurrence. We report 2 young males who presented with rapidly progressing paraparesis associated with urinary incontinence. In both cases, MRI of the spine demonstrated a diffusely enhancing mass at the conus medullaris with extensive spinal cord edema. Laboratory investigations revealed mild peripheral eosinophilia and abnormal, but non-specific, CSF analysis. In one patient, the diagnosis was made based on a rising schistosomal titer with a positive rectal biopsy. In the other patient, spinal cord biopsy revealed a granuloma. Both cases were caused by Schistosoma mansoni and patients were treated with praziquantel and steroid therapy. They both made a remarkable neurological recovery. We emphasize that a high index of suspicion should be raised in the differential diagnosis of transverse myelitis in endemic areas.
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, PO Box 12723, Jeddah 21483, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Tel. +966 (12) 6240000 Ext. 21298/22070. Fax. +966 (12) 6240000 Ext. 22765. E-mail: grdresearches@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Hussein A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Algahtani
authors.forename: Ahmed A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Aldarmahi
authors.forename: Mohammed W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Al-Rabia
authors.forename: Saleh S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Baeesa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008526:Medulla Oblongata / Q000473:pathology; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D012550:Schistosoma mansoni / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D012555:Schistosomiasis mansoni / Q000150:complications*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult