Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 11, 2026
Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Multiple Sclerosis at 7.0 Tesla
Published on: February 19, 2021
Magnetic resonance imaging features of pathologically proven cerebral sparganosis
Shuguang Chu1, Xingsui Lu, Yin Wang
1Department of Radiology, Huashan Hospital, Shanghai, China.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to identify characteristic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of cerebral sparganosis, a rare parasitic disease caused by the plerocercoid larva of Spirometra mansoni.
Methods:
This retrospective study reviewed medical records, computed tomography (CT) and MRI scans and pathological specimens from patients with pathologically proven cerebral sparganosis. The location, signal intensity and contrast enhancement characteristics of the lesions were assessed.
Results:
Records of 12 patients (seven male and five female; age range 8-35 years) were reviewed. A total of 13 lesions were identified: of the 10 patients with supratentorial lesions, nine had a single lesion and one had bilateral hemispheric lesions. Two patients had a single lesion in the ependyma of the 4(th) ventricle. All lesions were iso-hypointense on T1-weighted images, slightly hypointense on T2-weighted images and surrounded by extensive oedema. Ten of the 13 lesions demonstrated a 'string-knots sign', characterized by a tangled string in a knot-like shape on contrast-enhanced MRI.
Conclusion:
A string-knots sign enhancement pattern in cortical-subcortical regions should suggest the diagnosis of cerebral sparganosis.
