Department of Neurology, College of medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
College of medicine, King Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Ethiop J Health Sci. 2023 May;33(3):555-560. doi: 10.4314/ejhs.v33i3.20.
Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is considered the most common central nervous system (CNS) helminthic infection. The prevalence of NCC cases in the Middle East has increased in recent years. Thirty-nine cases of NCC were reported between 2003-2011 in the Arabian Peninsula, among, five cases being from the kingdom Saudi Arabia (KSA). Most of the cases reported from the KSA were presented with seizures, and they belonged to expatriate workers or their related contacts. In this case series, we presented three cases of colloidal/calcified NCC.
Our patients were diagnosed with NCC based on epidemiologic exposure, clinical features, and typical radiological findings. Stool samples for ova and parasites were negative in all three cases. Among these cases, two patients were immigrants and belonged to endemic areas, and third case who is the youngest in this series was a Saudi, without any history of exposure to any source.
The first and the third cases were treated with Albendazole and Dexamethasone. We did not offer any medication regarding NCC in the second case as he had asymptomatic NCC and the disease was inactive so did not mandate anti-helminth medication.
NCC in KSA, like in non-endemic countries, is not a rare or unusual infection anymore, presenting with seizures or incidental findings in an asymptomatic state. Vigilant diagnostic protocols with efficient diagnostic tools are required for detecting carriers of the adult form of the parasite. Timely detection of these carriers can avoid further spread and its related complications in the Saudi population.
神经囊虫病（NCC）被认为是最常见的中枢神经系统（CNS）寄生虫感染。近年来，中东地区的 NCC 病例有所增加。在 2003 年至 2011 年期间，阿拉伯半岛报告了 39 例 NCC 病例，其中 5 例来自沙特阿拉伯王国（KSA）。KSA 报告的大多数病例均表现为癫痫发作，且患者均为外籍工人或其相关接触者。在本病例系列中，我们报告了 3 例胶样/钙化性 NCC。
我们的患者根据流行病学暴露、临床特征和典型的影像学发现诊断为 NCC。所有 3 例患者的粪便样本均未检出虫卵和寄生虫。在这些病例中，2 例患者为移民，来自流行地区，第 3 例患者是该系列中最年轻的，他是沙特人，没有任何接触任何来源的病史。
第 1 例和第 3 例患者接受了阿苯达唑和地塞米松治疗。我们没有对第 2 例患者提供任何关于 NCC 的药物治疗，因为他患有无症状的 NCC，且疾病不活跃，因此不需要抗寄生虫药物。
与非流行国家一样，KSA 的 NCC 不再是一种罕见或不寻常的感染，可表现为癫痫发作或无症状状态下的偶然发现。需要使用有效的诊断工具进行警惕性诊断方案，以检测寄生虫成虫携带者。及时发现这些携带者可以避免寄生虫在沙特人群中的进一步传播及其相关并发症。
