Cerebral Cysticercosis

A 44-year-old female underwent a right frontal craniotomy under a diagnosis of metastatic brain tumor and a fluid-filled cystic lesion was extirpated. One rice grain sized nodule was identified in the cyst and histopathological examination of the nodule showeda scolex with hooks and suckers. These macro and microscopic findings indicated a diagnosis of cerebral cysticercosis, caused by infection of the larval stage of some type of Taenia species. A therapeutic course of praziquantel was given after craniotomy. The patient has been a resident of the Kanto area of Japan since birth and has never been outside Japan. (Internal Medicine 32: 569-573, 1993)