Clinical analysis of 52 cases of neurocysticercosis.

We studied 52 cases of neurocysticercosis from January 1991 to December 2006 in order to increase our understanding of the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. The majority of patients were between 18 and 45 years old (78.8%). Men were more subject to the disease than women. The urban population was more at risk than the rural population. The treatment involved the use of mannitol, dexamethasone and oral administrations of albendazole or praziquantel. The effectiveness rate was 57.7% (30), the improvement rate was 28.8% (15), and the inefficacy rate was 14.0% (6). Neurocysticercosis was easy to misdiagnose. Praziquantel and albendazole are effective drugs for neurocysticercosis.