Neurosurgical Management of Cerebral Cysticercosis

ABSTRACT

Cerebral cysticercosis presents a quite variable clinical picture in its manifestation and course. This clinical polymorphism produces principal difficulties in its diagnosis and in planning therapeutic strategies as well as in evaluating therapeutic results. The author reviewed his experience with 52 cases of cerebral cysticercosis, surgically treated from 1977 to 1987 in Department of Neurosurgery, Seoul National University Hospital. The age of patients at time of diagnosis varied between 7 and 66 years(mean 43.4 years), with 75% from the fourth to the seventh decade. There was a 1.61 male to female ratio. The two most common residency of the patients, next to the Seoul area, were Cheju Provience(21%) and Chollanam Province(15%). The chief symptoms and signs were those of increased ICP(94%), focal neurological deficits(69%), seizure(40%), mental change(33%) and meningismus(21%). We classified 52 cases into the following groups based on the location of lesion in the brain CT scansa) Parenchymatous(34%), b) Intraventricular(25%), c) Meningocisternal(18%), and d) Mixed type(33%). ELISA was highly reliable in making the diagnosis, this test, however, should not be regarded as a quantitative clue to evaluate the degree of curability. In cases no improvenent was achived clinically after praziquantel therapy and/or surgical treatment disappeared cysts in follow-up brain CT, a further diagnostic work-up to search for a intraventricular or mixed type is recommended. In 2 cases with a single, superficially located parenchymatous cyst, one burr hole trephination followed by aspiration using a brain needle was proved to be very effective. Surgical treatment in combination with a praziquantel therapy produced a marked improvement in 47 cases(90.4%) out of 52 cases. In the mixed type, the surgical outcome was unfavorable compared with other types.