Magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography of neurocysticercosis

Abstract

The typical radiological appearance of neurocysticercosis (NC) includes: small solitary or multiple non-enhancing lesions, small enhancing nodules, non-enhancing cysts without and at a later stage with perifocal oedema, racemose cysts in the subarachnoid space, cysts with ring enhancement and perifocal oedema, cysts with eccentric scolex (target sign, bull's eye sign) and nodular calcifications. MRI is more sensitive than CT (Figs 1 - 5) in the diagnosis of subarachnoid and ventricular forms of NC. CT is very sensitive in diagnosing cerebral forms and is more sensitive than MRI in the late stage of NC characterised by nodular calcifications. In patients with seizures, neurological deficit and mental deterioration CT remains the imaging method of choice. If the result of CT is negative or dubious MRI has to be considered. On CT small lesions are not visible especially if investigation is performed only with 10mm slices.