Parkinsonism and other movement disorders in 23 cases of neurocysticercosis.

INTRODUCTION: Parkinsonism and other movement disorders have been occasionally described in neurocysticercosis (NCC) but their clinical features and pathogenesis are not well understood.

METHODS: This is a descriptive study conducted over 20 years. We studied 590 consecutive patients from the NCC Registry at Eugenio Espejo Hospital, Quito, Ecuador, and found 23 subjects who developed movement disorders. We investigated the clinical features, localization of brain lesions, severity of infection and neurological deficit as well as the outcome of the patients. Patients were treated with albendazole, dexamethasone, acetazolamide and surgery. We established the diagnosis of NCC, by absolute, imaging and clinical/exposure criteria.

RESULTS: Fifteen patients had parkinsonism, 5 tremor, 2 dystonia and 1 chorea. Patients with chorea and dystonia were young females and had cystic lesions in the thalamus and putamen, respectively. Parkinsonism was more frequent in middle aged subjects with subarachnoid and ventricular cysts, hydrocephalus, brain cysts and frequently abnormal cerebrospinal fluid. After anthelmintic treatment no patient died and all patients with chorea, dystonia and tremor fully recovered; 7 of the 15 patients with parkinsonism required treatment with steroids, surgery and long term l-DOPA therapy.

CONCLUSIONS: Chorea and dystonia in NCC are due to selective lesions of the basal ganglia. Parkinsonism, the most common movement disorder in NCC, is not related to specific localization of the lesions but the patients show widespread and large lesions, associated with inflammation and distortions of brain structures. In patients with NCC, chorea, dystonia, tremor have a better prognosis, Parkinsonism has a worse one.