[Brief comments on the pathogenesis of spinal cysticercosis]

The spinal forms of neurocysticercosis are rather rare. The more common presentation is the leptomeningeal form. We have reported two patients with an exclusively spinal involvement verified through surgery. The current theory of downward migration of the parasites from the cerebral to the spinal subarachnoid space cannot explain primary spinal forms, and it is suggested that retrograde flow through the epidural vertebral veins provides an alternative route.