title: Clinical symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of neurocysticercosis.
abstract: The infection of the nervous system by the cystic larvae of Taenia solium (neurocysticercosis) is a frequent cause of seizure disorders. Neurocysticercosis is endemic or presumed to be endemic in many low-income countries. The lifecycle of the worm and the clinical manifestations of neurocysticercosis are well established, and CT and MRI have substantially improved knowledge of the disease course. Improvements in immunodiagnosis have further advanced comprehension of the pathophysiology of this disease. This knowledge has led to individualised treatment approaches that account for the involvement of parenchymal or extraparenchymal spaces, the number and form of parasites, and the extent of degeneration and associated inflammation. Clinical investigations are focused on development of effective treatments and reduction of side-effects induced by treatment, such as seizures, hydrocephalus, infarcts, and neuroinjury.
authors.affiliation: Cysticercosis Unit, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurológicas, Lima, Peru; Centre for Global Health-Tumbes and Department of Microbiology, School of Sciences, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru. Electronic address: hgarcia@jhsph.edu.
authors.forename: Hector H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Theodore E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Nash
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Universidad Espíritu Santo-Ecuador, Guayaquil, Ecuador; Department of Neurological Sciences, Hospital-Clínica Kennedy, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Oscar H
authors.initials: OH
authors.lastname: Del Brutto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D020019:Neurocysticercosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy* / Q000635:transmission; D012640:Seizures / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D013552:Swine; D041201:Taenia solium / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome