Neurocysticercosis: a reversible and rare cause of seizure in the developed world

Description 

A 22-year-old man, originally from India, presented to an emergency department in Canada with a new-onset seizure and collapse associated with a few seconds of right eye and tongue deviation. This event occurred following 6 weeks of difficulty concentrating and unilateral left-sided headache. On examination, no focal neurological deficits were found. A non-contrast CT head was requested which showed a left-sided occipital lesion. A follow-up brain MRI revealed the 'hole-with-dot' lesion pathognomonic for neurocysticercosis (NCC).

NCC is caused by the tapeworm Taenia solium and is the most common parasitic infection of the central nervous system, endemic to many low-income countries worldwide. T. solium is transmitted among humans via the faecal–oral route, with pigs acting as an intermediate host. Humans are a definitive host for the intestinal tapeworm which produces eggs containing an infective embryo (oncosphere). This embryo can actively cross the intestinal wall into the blood stream and deposit in...

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