Cysticercus Cellulosae (Cysticercosis)

Cysticercus Cellulosae (Cysticercosis) – General Information

Cysticercus Cellulosae (Cysticercosis) (also known as Cysticercosis or Neurocysticercosis) is a parasitic infection of the central nervous system, which is caused by larvae of the tapeworm (named Taenia solium that is commonly found in pork).  These larvae cause the forming of the cysts (which are closed sacs that have an own membrane) in the body. If the tapeworms are localized in the intestine the disease they cause is different from Cysticercus Cellulosae (Cysticercosis) and is called taeniasis. This disease appears when the tapeworm’s eggs enter the stomach. They can enter the stomach from contaminated water or food. People can also get infected if they have the worms in their intestine, through vomiting. The vomiting process moves the eggs into the stomach and when they return to the intestine, the worms which develop there reach the skeletal muscles, eyes, heart, spinal cord and even brain. When they reach these places they start to form encapsulated cysts which contain the worm. These cysts which appear in a person who is suffering from Cysticercus Cellulosae (Cysticercosis) can be localized behind the knee joint, between the surface of the brain and the cranial base, on the arachnoid (which is one of the membranes which protect the brain), on the eyelid, ovaries, hand, foot, tendons, in the brain (these cysts are called Glial cysts), they can also be vaginal, on the cervix, on the fallopian tube, kidneys, in the sac below the skin, on the spine and on the vocal folds.

Cysticercus Cellulosae (Cysticercosis) – Symptoms

It is well known the fact that any medical disorder (including Cysticercus Cellulosae (Cysticercosis)) can trigger a variety of symptoms. Therefore, some of this medical condition's most uncommon symptoms have not been listed (mentioned) here. This is why we strongly recommend you to contact your personal health care provider whenever you develop any unusual, bothersome or unpleasant reactions. Your personal physician will be able to tell you if you are suffering from Cysticercus Cellulosae (Cysticercosis) or from any other medical disorder. Here is a list of the most common symptoms that a person who suffers from Cysticercus Cellulosae (Cysticercosis), may experience, knowing that the symptoms differ between individuals depending on the location of the infection: swelling without pain, impaired vision and blindness (if the cysts appear in the eye), swelling of the retina, detachment of the retina, enlargement of the extra-ocular eye muscle, blurred vision, heart lesion which usually lead to abnormal rhythm, heart failure, seizures, headache, confusion, poor attention, poor balance, hydrocephalus (which is the swelling of the brain), eye infection, spine infection, scarring, spinal cord lesions which usually lead to weakness, partial loss of the motor control and paralysis. In the final stage patients may develop cerebral edema, cerebral compression and epileptic seizures.

In the majority of the cases there are very few symptoms until the death of the parasite. After the death of the parasite the body’s immune system finds the rests of the worms and attacks them, leading to the appearance and development of the symptoms listed above.

Cysticercus Cellulosae (Cysticercosis) – Treatment

In the early stage, the Cysticercus Cellulosae (Cysticercosis) is hard to diagnose, but after the first symptoms begin to appear it is easy to be recognized. This medical disorder can also be discovered at an MRI (which is a magnetic resonance imaging) of the brain or a CT scan (which is a computed tomography) which are made for other reasons. In order to complete the diagnosis, a biopsy of the affected zone or an antibody tests may be needed. In the treatment of the Cysticercus Cellulosae (Cysticercosis) the doctor or personal health care provider usually recommends anti-parasitic drugs such as albendazole or Prazquantel. In order to reduce the swelling of the affected area, doctors usually prescribe steroid anti-inflammatory medication. Physicians are not sure if the patients will respond to the treatment because the live cysticerci do not lead to seizures. It seems that only the dead parasites lead to an inflammatory response from the organism and also to seizures. This is why in theory the treatment applied to kill the parasites can lead to seizures in a person who feels good and does not experience them.

If the cysts appear and develop in the eyes or in the brain, the steroid treatment should be started a few days before starting the anti-parasitic one, to avoid the problems which appear because of the swelling. The treatment can be lethal if the immune responses and also the swelling are not kept under control; this is why doctors give the medications in low doses for a few days, in order to see how the patient’s organism responds. In some cases surgery may be necessary in order to remove the cysts or the affected area, but in the cases when the cysts are located in dangerous areas or in difficult to access, surgery is not the answer. Doctor can prescribe the patients some drugs which treat the symptoms (seizures and irregular heart beat) that do not affect the worms. In the cases when the cysticerci have calcified in the brain and in the cases where the patient presents a single lesion, such treatments are not considered appropriate.
Here is a list of drugs which the doctors may recommend to patients:

• Biltricide – this is an anthelmintic agent which works by killing some types of worms. It is used to treat some of the worm infections which may include schistosoma and liver flukes. This drug should not be used by persons who are allergic to any ingredient contained by Biltricide, by persons who are breast-feeding, by persons who are taking rifampin and by persons who have infections of the eye (such as ocular Cysticercus Cellulosae (Cysticercosis)).
• Prazquantel - this is an anthelmintic agent which works by killing some types of worms. It is used to treat some of the worm infections which may include schistosoma and liver flukes. This drug should not be used by persons who are allergic to any ingredient contained by Prazquantel, by persons who are breast-feeding, by persons who are taking rifampin and by persons who have infections of the eye (such as ocular Cysticercus Cellulosae (Cysticercosis)).