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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Arquivos Brasileiros de Neurocirurgia: Brazilian Neurosurgery 2017; 36(01): 66-70
DOI: 10.1055/s-0035-1571268
Case Report | Relato de Caso
Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Spinal Neurocysticercosis: A Rare Variant of a Common Parasitic Infection

Neurocisticercose espinhal: uma variante rara de uma infecção parasitária comum
Paulo Moacir Mesquita Filho
1   Department of Neurosurgery, Passo Fundo City Hospital, Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
,
Nério Dutra Azambuja Junior
1   Department of Neurosurgery, Passo Fundo City Hospital, Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
,
José Ricardo Vanzin
1   Department of Neurosurgery, Passo Fundo City Hospital, Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
,
Rafael DAgostini Annes
1   Department of Neurosurgery, Passo Fundo City Hospital, Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
,
Daniel Lima Varela
2   Department of Neurology, Passo Fundo City Hospital, Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
,
Moisés Augusto de Araújo
1   Department of Neurosurgery, Passo Fundo City Hospital, Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
,
Vanderson Rodrigo de Araújo
1   Department of Neurosurgery, Passo Fundo City Hospital, Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
,
Candice Ghelen Bregalda
1   Department of Neurosurgery, Passo Fundo City Hospital, Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
,
Timóteo Abrantes de Lacerda Almeida
3   Department of Neurosurgery, São Vicente de Paulo Hospital, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

15 September 2015

25 November 2015

Publication Date:
15 February 2016 (online)

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Abstract

Neurocysticercosis is the most common parasitic infection affecting the central nervous system, usually involving the brain parenchyma, intracranial subarachnoid space, or ventricular system. In rare cases, there is involvement of the spine (vertebral, epidural, subdural, arachnoid, or intramedullary). Even in endemic regions, this variant is rare, with an incidence below 5% of all patients. The diagnosis is made based on the symptoms, which can be very unspecific, imaging and CSF analysis, with biopsy as a possibility. Treatment is usually curative, but important deficits can develop, due to compression of the spinal cord or nerve roots, arachnoiditis, or meningitis. We present the case of a patient who developed this entity, with poor clinical scenario, and review the literature on the topic.

Resumo

Neurocisticercose é a infecção parasitária mais comum afetando o sistema nervoso central, geralmente envolvendo o parênquima cerebral, espaço subaracnóide intracraniano ou sistema ventricular. Em raros casos, há envolvimento da coluna vertebral, espaços epidural e subdural, aracnoide, ou intramedular. Mesmo em áreas endêmicas, esta variante é rara, com incidência abaixo de 5% entre todos os pacientes. O diagnóstico é feito com base nos sintomas, que podem ser bastante inespecíficos, neuroimagem e análise do líquor, sendo a biópsia uma possibilidade. O tratamento geralmente é curativo, porém importantes déficits podem se desenvolver, devido à compressão da medula espinhal ou raízes nervosas, aracnoidite ou meningite. Relatamos o caso de um paciente que desenvolveu esta entidade, com sintomatologia escassa, e revisamos a literatura sobre este tópico.

Keywords

neurocysticercosis - spine - spinal neurocysticercosis

Palavras-chave

neurocisticercose - coluna - neurocisticercose espinhal
 

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