A Rare Case of Isolated Intramedullary Spinal Cord Cysticercosis

Neurocysticercosis is a parasitic disease often involving the central nervous system by Taenia solium and is commonly seen in developing countries. The majority of these cases have either isolated brain involvement or combined involvement of the brain and spinal cord. Isolated involvement of the spinal cord is very rare. We report the case of a 20-year-old Indian man who was hospitalized for progressive weakness in all extremities. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a well-defined, round, thick-walled, peripherally enhancing lesion in the intramedullary region, a provisional diagnosis of isolated cysticercosis of the intramedullary region of the spinal cord was made. The patient improved upon needle aspiration of the cystic lesion after surgery, which on post-surgical histological examination confirmed the diagnosis by showing the presence of cysticerci.