Doctors in Florida, in the United States, found larval cysts in the brain of a 52-year-old man who arrived at the hospital complaining of severe migraines. After performing a CT scan, the team discovered that the patient’s headaches were actually neurocysticercosis caused by a rare parasite. The discovery was published in the American Journal of Case Reports.
Understand:
- Larval cysts were found in the brain of a 52-year-old man in Florida, USA;
- The man arrived at the hospital complaining of a migraine, but a CT scan revealed neurocysticercosis;
- Neurocysticercosis is an infection of the central nervous system caused by cysts of the Taenia soliumtapeworm found in pork;
- In addition to migraines, the infection can cause seizures, partial paralysis, weakness, numbness, loss of movement control, increased pressure in the skull, confusion and memory loss;
- Doctors attributed the taeniasis to the consumption of undercooked bacon, and believe that the rare larval cysts may have come from consuming the man’s own contaminated feces while inadequately washing his hands;
- The discovery was published in the American Journal of Case Reports.
Neurocysticercosis is an infection of the central nervous system caused by larval cysts of the Taenia solium, tapeworm found in pork. The intensity of symptoms – which include migraines, seizures, partial paralysis, weakness, numbness, loss of movement control, increased pressure in the skull, confusion and memory loss – varies depending on the part of the brain in which the cysts are located. .
Read more:
Parasite cysts in patient’s brain intrigued doctors
The patient said he had not traveled to places that would increase the risk of exposure to infected pork or other food and water contaminated with feces, puzzling doctors about the origin of the tapeworm in his system.
However, the man admitted to liking lightly cooked bacon – which explains the taeniasis, but not the cysts in his brain. “Given the patient’s predilection for undercooked pork and history of benign exposure, we are in favor that his cysticercosis was transmitted by self-infection following inadequate handwashing after he himself contracted taeniasis due to his eating habits,” wrote the team in the study.
Doctors believe that the patient possibly contracted the tapeworm from undercooked bacon and then swallowed some of the eggs in his own feces. “Taeniasis occurs when consuming undercooked pork and the larval cysts embedded in it, while cysticercosis is contracted when humans ingest eggs found in the feces of other humans with taeniasis.”
