SUBRETINAL NEUROCYSTICERCOSIS: A LESSER EXPLORED MANIFESTATION OF A FAIRLY COMMON CONDITION

• Arpit Varshney,  
• Ruquiya Afrose,  
• Gourik Gangopadhyay,  
• Sayeedul Hasan Arif,  
• Avadh Vihari Lal Sharma*

Abstract

Cysticercosis in humans is the most common parasitic zoonotic diseases worldwide with an estimated prevalence greater than 50 million persons infected. Cysticercosis is the infection caused by the larval form of the cestode tapeworm Taenia solium, also termed as Cysticercosis cellulosae. It is the most common parasitic cerebral infection encountered in worldwide neurosurgical practice. The condition has been estimated to affect nearly 2.5 to 8.3 million people annually accounting for a global burden of 2.8 million disability adjusted life years. 2Endemic to all continents, the condition is particularly more prevalent in Central and South America, India, Africa and China. In India, the ocular adnexa has been found to be the most common site of neurocysticercosis but the condition is underreported and not diagnosed until full-fledged retinal detachment or blindness sets in. Cysticercosis must be kept in the mind in patients presenting with decreased vision, photophobia, redness of the eye as is notorious for the chronicity.

Keywords

Subretinal Cysticercosis, Photophobia, Tapeworm