[Isolated intramedullary cysticercosis. Case report]. / Cysticercose intramédullaire isolée. A propos d'un cas.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cysticercosis is the most common parasitic disease affecting the central nervous system. Although it is still very rare in Europe, the frequency will increase due to the influx of immigrants from the endemic areas and increasing trips in these countries. Spinal intramedullary cysticercosis is an uncommon manifestation of neurocysticercosis. CLINICAL PRESENTATION We report a case of pure intramedullary cysticercosis in a young white French girl, presenting as a progressive paraplegia with a cystic lesion in T4 on MRI. The diagnosis was made only after surgery by pathological examination. CONCLUSIONS: A preoperative diagnosis of spinal intramedullary cysticercosis must be suspected not only in an endemic area in the presence of multiple soft tissue calcifications and segmental lesions revealed by myelography or MRI studies, but also for all cystic lesion of central nervous system even in no endemic area. Surgery is the unique treatment which can be used for spinal intramedullary cysticercosis and with the use of the microsurgical techniques for medullar surgery the outcome is not as dismal as reported earlier.