The 52-year-old man presented to a healthcare clinic for severe migraines that were not responding to traditional treatments. He had a history of migraines, diabetes and obesity and reported regularly eating undercooked bacon. A CT scan revealed multiple cysts in the white matter of the man’s brain. He was immediately admitted to a hospital, where an MRI scan revealed additional cysts, according to Live Science.
Clinicians diagnosed the man with neurocysticercosis, a parasitic infection of the brain caused by larval cysts of the pork tapeworm Taenia solium, according to the CDC. He was treated with antiparasitic and anti-inflammatory medications.
The general condition, which entails a tapeworm infection in the intestines, is called cysticercosis. In the most severe form, neurocysticercosis, larvae infect the nervous system and make their way to the brain. Researchers warned the tapeworm infection is becoming more common in developed countries, such as the U.S., due to increasing rates of travel. Humans become infected by ingesting food or water contaminated with the tapeworm cysts.
“This presentation is nonspecific and can easily be overlooked, especially if there is an underlying known neurological condition such as migraine,” they said. “This case illustrates that neurocysticercosis should be considered when an existing neuropathological condition displays a change in presentation or requires a change in therapeutic management, even without obvious risk factors.”
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