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Review
. 2021 May 25:17:1599-1610.
doi: 10.2147/NDT.S306585. eCollection 2021.

Psychiatric Disorders of Neurocysticercosis: Narrative Review

Asmaa M El-Kady  1 , Khaled S Allemailem  2 , Ahmad Almatroudi  2 , Birgit Abler  3 , Mohamed Elsayed  3
Affiliations
Review

Psychiatric Disorders of Neurocysticercosis: Narrative Review

Asmaa M El-Kady et al. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. .

Abstract

Neurocysticercosis, the most common type of neuroparasitosis, is a condition in which the central nervous system (CNS) is infested with the pork tapeworm Taenia solium cysticercosis' larvae. Neurocysticercosis is the most widespread parasitic CNS disease worldwide, affecting more than 50 million individuals. As neurocysticercosis is prevalent in developing countries, the growing number of migrants and travelers increases prevalence in developed countries. Possible neuropsychiatric manifestations are depression, cognitive dysfunction, dementia, and visual hallucinations. Depending on the cysts' location in the CNS, focal neurology or psychiatric symptoms manifest. The diagnosis of neurocysticercosis is based on neuroimaging and serology. The correlation between specific symptoms and the cyst's location might help better understand psychiatric disorders' pathophysiology. Nonetheless, the exact prevalence of neurocysticercosis is seldom reported in patients with psychiatric disorders, which may be due to the lack of imaging availability in developing countries with a high prevalence.

Keywords: cognitive functions; dementia; depression; neurocysticercosis; psychiatric.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors reported no conflicts of interest for this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
World map showing the distribution of T. solium taeniasis/cysticercosis transmission.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Life cycle of T. solium Development of both taeniasis and cysticercosis.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Macroscopic views of cysticerci in different stages of involution.
Figure 4
Figure 4
A drawing showing the diagnostic criteria for neurocysticercosis.
None
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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