Occurrence of encephalic and cardiac cysticercosis (Cysticercus cellulosae) in necropsy

Objective To review the incidence and pathologic findings of cysticercosis diagnosed at autopsies, with emphasis on the most common organs affected. Methods Reports of 1.596 autopsies performed between 1974 and 1997 at a sch ool hospital in Uberaba, MG, Brazil were studied. The following data were o btained: age, sex, ethnic group, body mass index, and the site of the cysti cercosis. Results The found diagnosis of cysticercosis in 53 autopsies (3.3%). The av erage age of patients with cysticercosis was 50 (range: 15 to 86 years); 62 .3% were male and 64.1% Caucasian. The most affected organs were brain (79. 2%), heart (22.6%), skeletal muscle (11.3%) and other organs (5.7%). No sta tistical differences were found comparing age, gender ethnic group, and bod y mass index of the affected and the non-affected patients. In two cases of neurorcysticercosis the lesions, were located in the ventromedical nucleus of the hypothalamus. Conclusion Bath the overall incidence of cysticercosis and the incidence of cardiac cysticercosis were greater in the study than in other autopsy seri es from the same geographic areas. In two cases there was an association be tween hypothalamic cysticercosis and obesity.