Cysticercosis of the central nervous system with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: case report and review of the literature

Abstract

A case is described in which the clinical and pathological features of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) occurred in a patient with cysticercosis of the central nervous system and associated pachymeningitis of the cervical spinal cord. This is an extremely rare finding. The patient also presented the two symptom complexes more commonly encountered in this condition: focal and generalized epilepsy, and signs of obstructive hydrocephalus. The literature relevant to this case, and to cysticercosis in Great Britain, is briefly reviewed. The case described adds to the concept of motor neurone disease as a syndrome rather than a disease entity of undetermined aetiology.