NEUROCYSTICERCOSIS

A 49-year-old woman from Croatia, resident in Switzerland for 22 years , had a history of headaches and arterial hypertension for 8 years. Wh ile in hospital for assessment and treatment she developed focal seizu res. She had an eosinophilia (10%) and computed tomography of the skul l demonstrated cysts and multiple calcified foci in the left cerebral hemisphere. Antibodies against Taenia solium antigen were found in bot h serum and cerebrospinal fluid. Anthelminthic treatment with albendaz ole (15 mg/kg daily for 25 days) and anticonvulsive treatment with phe nytoin (serum levels between 10 and 20 mg/l) markedly improved the sym ptoms and the cysts regressed. - Neurocysticercosis, caused by the lar vae of the pork tapeworm, is occurring even more frequently because of the migration of people from countries where the disease is endemic.