Calcified neurocysticercosis: the knowledge gap remains

Abstract

Coyle cites Bustos, et al. [4], who retrospectively examined studies of anthelmintic treatment (AHT) and found 38% of cysts resulted in residual calcifications at one year after AHT. Looking at the percentage of calcifications might be interesting, but the analysis of calcifications is more complex than that; it requires a different approach, such as to take into account the evolutionary phase of the parasites. Coyle points out that the rate of calcification had been well described for individuals with single degenerating cysts, a common presentation in India, [5, 6] but states that data on the rate of calcifications among individuals with multiple cysts is lacking. However, in their cyst-level analysis, Montgomery et al. [2] describe the number of active and degenerating cysts that calcified over a 2-year period.