Temporal lobe epilepsy caused by intrahippocampal calcified cysticercus: a case report

The major differential diagnoses of epilepsy associated with small solitary lesion are tuberculous or cysticercus granuloma which are enhanced in CT and/or MRI study. We report of a 47-year-old man with intractable temporal lobe epilepsy as the presenting feature of a solitary intrahippocampal calcified mass without enhancement, which turned out to be a Taenia solium cysticercus. There was no apparent evidence of systemic cysticercosis. Imaging studies revealed a small solitary intrahippocampal calcification without perilesional enhancement, and atrophy of the hippocampal head portion. Cysticercosis should be considered as an etiology in the differential diagnosis in lesional medial temporal lobe epilepsy even without perilesional enhancement.