Update on the diagnosis and management of neurocysticercosis

ABSTRACT Background: Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is a serious public health problem in several developing countries, including those in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. NCC is considered to be the main cause of late-onset epilepsy in endemic areas. Objective: This review summarizes recent advances in diagnosis and therapy of NCC. Methods: Relevant articles and books were reviewed and used as a source of information for this review. Results: The diagnosis of NCC is based upon neuroimaging studies (MRI and computed tomography) and laboratory analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Praziquantel and albendazole are considered parasiticidal drugs against NCC, but there is an intense debate over the value and safety of these drugs. Conclusion: Given the relative scarcity of clinical trials, more comparative interventional studies, especially randomized controlled trials in long-term clinical evolution, are required in order to clarify the controversy over the validity of parasitic therapy in patients with NCC.

摘要
背景：脑囊尾蚴病（Neurocysticercosis, NCC）是拉丁美洲、亚洲及非洲等多个发展中国家面临的严重公共卫生问题，被认为是流行地区迟发性癫痫的主要致病因素。
研究目的：本综述总结了脑囊尾蚴病诊断与治疗领域的最新研究进展。
研究方法：本文检索并综述了相关学术文献与专著，以此作为本综述的信息来源。
研究结果：脑囊尾蚴病的诊断需依托神经影像学检查（磁共振成像（Magnetic Resonance Imaging, MRI）与计算机断层扫描（Computed Tomography, CT））以及脑脊液（cerebrospinal fluid, CSF）实验室检测。吡喹酮与阿苯达唑被认定为针对脑囊尾蚴病的杀虫药物，但学界围绕这两类药物的应用价值与安全性仍存在激烈争议。
结论：鉴于相关临床试验相对稀缺，亟需开展更多对比性干预研究，尤其是针对长期临床转归的随机对照试验，以厘清脑囊尾蚴病患者寄生虫治疗有效性的相关争议。