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Neurocysticercosis: Clinical Features and Advances in Diagnosis and Management

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Parasitic Disease in Clinical Practice

Part of the book series: The Bloomsbury Series in Clinical Science ((BLOOMSBURY))

Abstract

Cysticercosis, which is probably the most common parasitic cause of neurological disease in man (Del Brutto and Sotelo 1988) (Plasmodium falciparum is the only serious contender), consists of infection by the larval stage (Cysticercus cellulosae) (McGreevy and Nelson 1984; Cook 1990) of the pig tapeworm Taenia solium (Cook 1988a). The disease was described in pigs by Aristophanes and Aristotle in the third century BC, and Paranoli is credited with the first human account (which involved the corpus callosum) in 1550 (Nieto 1982). The term cysticercus was first used by Laennec. One of the largest series of cases was documented in British soldiers and their families in India (Dixon and Lipscomb 1961); 92% of 450 affected individuals described by these authors had a history of epilepsy.

Pigs whose meat is tender have bladders which are like hailstones in the region of the thigh, neck and loin. If they are few in number, the meat is leaner; if there are many, the meat becomes soft and filled with serous fluid. Aristotle (384–322 BC), History of Animals

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hospital for Tropical Diseases, University College Hospital, UK

    G. C. Cook MD, DSc, FRCP, FRACP, FLS (Consultant Physician, Medical Specialist, Lecturer in Medicine, Professor of Medicine in the Universities of Zambia, Riyadh and Papua New Guinea)

  2. St Luke’s Hospital for the Clergy, UK

    G. C. Cook MD, DSc, FRCP, FRACP, FLS (Consultant Physician, Medical Specialist, Lecturer in Medicine, Professor of Medicine in the Universities of Zambia, Riyadh and Papua New Guinea)

  3. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK

    G. C. Cook MD, DSc, FRCP, FRACP, FLS (Consultant Physician, Medical Specialist, Lecturer in Medicine, Professor of Medicine in the Universities of Zambia, Riyadh and Papua New Guinea)

  4. Royal Nigerian Army, Nigeria

    G. C. Cook MD, DSc, FRCP, FRACP, FLS (Consultant Physician, Medical Specialist, Lecturer in Medicine, Professor of Medicine in the Universities of Zambia, Riyadh and Papua New Guinea)

  5. Makerere University, Uganda

    G. C. Cook MD, DSc, FRCP, FRACP, FLS (Consultant Physician, Medical Specialist, Lecturer in Medicine, Professor of Medicine in the Universities of Zambia, Riyadh and Papua New Guinea)

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  1. G. C. Cook MD, DSc, FRCP, FRACP, FLS
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Cook, G.C. (1990). Neurocysticercosis: Clinical Features and Advances in Diagnosis and Management. In: Parasitic Disease in Clinical Practice. The Bloomsbury Series in Clinical Science. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-1769-8_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-1769-8_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-1771-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-1769-8

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