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Video: Neurocysticercosis: Symptoms And Treatment In Humans
2024 Author: Riley Dean | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 02:21
Neurocysticercosis, a type of helminthiasis, is a dangerous parasitic disease. The larvae of the pork tapeworm that have entered the body for their localization use, among other things, the human brain, which leads to the appearance of diseases of the nervous system, and in severe cases - to death. Neurocysticercosis of the eyes is one of the six forms of the disease caused by parasites of the eyes.
The asymptomatic course of the disease can last for many years without visible manifestations. Complex therapy with the use of drug treatment and surgery will help to win in the fight against pathology.
Content
- Life cycle and routes of infection
- Symptoms
- Diagnostics
- Treatment
- Conservative
- Operational
- Output
Life cycle and routes of infection
The larvae of the pork tapeworm, which belongs to the tapeworm class, enter the human body along with the infected pig meat. Located in the small intestine of an infected person, the eggs of the parasite develop within 5-7 years. Moreover, the patient may not even know about it. An adult individual (length can reach 7 meters) lays larvae in the digestive tract. In this case, the infected, emptying the intestines, exposes the environment to millions of parasitic embryos.
But sometimes a person is able to infect himself by vomiting or regurgitation, swallowing the contents of the intestines with larvae. Or when consuming liquids or foods containing microparticles of feces with helminth eggs. In this case, the shell of the larvae under the action of gastric juice is destroyed, and through the blood vessels, part of the parasites, transported through the body, settle in the brain, eyes and striated muscles.
The larva of the pork tapeworm, which has penetrated the brain, is a small transparent bubble with a liquid 3-15 mm in diameter (cysticercus), with a helminth located inside, which clings to the brain tissue with hooks and suckers. Moreover, the number of cysticers can range from one to several hundred.
Localized throughout the entire cerebral space from the cerebral cortex to the ventricles of the brain, after 12-18 months, some cysticercus die, and the rest calcify, forming pathological tissue. This process, interfering with the normal circulation of cerebrospinal fluid, can cause an increase in intracranial pressure, epileptic seizures, hydrocephalus, etc.
Symptoms
Neurocysticercosis can occur both with the absence of symptomatic signs and manifest itself as a violation of the nervous state, mental abilities, spasms of various parts of the body. Symptoms depend on the site of localization, the number and stage of development of the parasites. An important circumstance is the individual characteristic of the immune system of a sick person.
In total, it is customary to distinguish six main forms of neurocysticercosis:
- Parenchymal. With this form, the foci of inflammation are located directly in the depths of the brain tissue. An infected person may experience impaired coordination, speech and visual fields. The defeat of the cranial nerve endings leads to the destabilization of intellectual abilities, involuntary movements (convulsions) and loss of sensitivity of the limbs.
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Subarachnoid. This form manifests itself in mild meningeal symptoms. The patient periodically experiences dizziness, bouts of nausea, increased sensitivity to light. Cranial pressure rises.
- Intraventricular. This form is caused by the blockage of the passages in the ventricles of the brain by the larvae. As a result, the patient suffers from headache, attacks of dizziness and loss of consciousness. Arrhythmia, respiratory distress and increased sweating can also cause parasites to develop.
- Neurocysticercosis of the eyes. The symptomatology of this form is damage to the mucous membrane and iris of the eyes. Helminth eggs can also be located near the retina, in the vitreous humor, and even inside the lens. The patient experiences a sensation of a foreign body in the eye, decreased visual function, and, in some cases, may become completely blind.
- Spinal. The least common form of the disease, accounting for 1% of all cases. Suffering from pork tapeworm in this case, as a rule, the cervical and thoracic spinal cord. Symptoms may mimic intercostal neuralgia, sciatica, and a pinched sciatic nerve.
- Asymptomatic. The most difficult form to identify. In most cases, there is no pronounced symptomatology, and the disease is discovered by chance, when other diseases are diagnosed.
Diagnostics
The clinical picture of neurocysticercosis is confirmed by hardware examination and test results. It is imperative that the specialist is able to distinguish taenia solium from diseases with similar symptoms. For this, modern medicine uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography, X-ray, blood and cerebrospinal fluid tests, serological examination.
During an ophthalmological examination, the doctor can easily detect the presence of pathogenic parasites in the organs of vision.
Treatment
Conservative
With the drug treatment of pork tapeworm, in most cases, complex measures are used. Along with killing parasites, drugs (Praziquantel and Albendazole), hormones (Dexamethasone) and anti-inflammatory (Ibuprofen, Diclofenac) and anticonvulsants (Depakine) are used to reduce inflammation, prevent allergic reactions and seizures.
Operational
With a severe form of the disease, and with neurocysticercosis of the eye, surgical intervention is used. This is due to the fact that in the malignant course of the disease, pathological cavities are formed in tissues and organs, and hydrocephalus (dropsy of the brain) develops. Hydrocephalus is treated with cyst removal and ventricular shunting.
Output
After all of the above, we can summarize. Infection with a serious illness is not accompanied by painful symptoms. For a long time, the infected person is in the dark about the disease. The clinical picture that does not have specific forms requires a certain set of diagnostic studies. Hygiene measures must be observed to prevent infection with helminths.
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