- Differences between teniasis and cysticercosis
- Main symptoms of cysticercosis
- Life cycle of cysticercosis
- How is cysticercosis treated
Cysticercosis is a parasitosis caused by the ingestion of water or food such as vegetables, fruits or vegetables contaminated with eggs of a specific type of tapeworm, Taenia solium . People who have this tapeworm in their intestines may not develop cysticercosis, but they release eggs in their stools that can contaminate vegetables or meat, causing the disease in others.
After three days of eating the tapeworm eggs, they pass from the intestine into the bloodstream and lodge in tissues such as muscle, heart, eyes or brain, forming larvae, known as cysticerci, which can reach the nervous system and result in cerebral cysticercosis or neurocysticercosis.
Differences between teniasis and cysticercosis
Teniasis and cysticercosis are completely different diseases, but caused by the same type of parasite, Taenia sp. Taenia solium is the tapeworm that is normally present in pork, while Taenia saginata can be found in beef. These two types cause teniasis but only T. solium eggs cause cysticercosis.
Teniasis is acquired by consuming undercooked meat containing the larva, which in the intestine becomes adult and causes intestinal symptoms, in addition to reproduction and release of eggs. In cysticercosis, on the other hand, the person ingests the Taenia solium eggs that can break in the person's body, with the release of the larva, known as cysticercus, which reaches the bloodstream and reaches various parts of the body, such as muscles, heart, eyes and brain, for example.
Main symptoms of cysticercosis
The symptoms of cysticercosis vary according to the affected site, being:
- Brain: headache, seizures, mental confusion or coma; Heart: palpitations, difficulty breathing or wheezing; Muscles: local pain, swelling, inflammation, cramps or difficulty in movement; Skin: swelling of the skin, which generally does not cause pain and which can be mistaken for a cyst; Eyes: difficulty seeing or loss of vision.
The diagnosis of cysticercosis can be made with imaging tests such as radiographs, tomography, ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging, as well as the examination of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain or blood tests.
Life cycle of cysticercosis
The life cycle of cysticercosis can be represented as follows:
Cysticercosis is acquired by man through the ingestion of water or food contaminated by pig feces containing eggs from the tapeworm. The eggs, about 3 days after being ingested, break and release the larvae that manage to pass from the intestine into the bloodstream, where they circulate through the body and lodge in tissues such as brain, liver, muscles or heart, causing human cysticercosis.
Tapeworm eggs can be released through the feces of an individual with Teniasis, and can contaminate the soil, water or food that can then be eaten by humans, pigs or oxen. Learn more about Teniasis and how to distinguish these two diseases.
How is cysticercosis treated
Treatment for cysticercosis is usually done with medications such as Praziquantel, Dexamethasone and Albendazole, for example. In addition, it may be necessary to use anticonvulsant drugs to prevent seizures, as well as corticosteroids or surgery to remove the tapeworm larvae, depending on the individual's state of health and the severity of the disease.
