Albendazole Therapy in Solitary Cerebral Cysticercosis : Its effect on natural history and chronic epilepsy

Tropical countries shoulder a disproportionately large share of the global burden of epilepsy, largely attributable to a high prevalence of cysticercosis. The role of albendazole in solitary cerebral cysticercosis, a form of the disease common in the Indian subcontinent, is debated: the fact that most cysticerci do not become symptomatic until already dead and degenerating, as well as the lack of definite benefit of albendazole theraly on long-term clinical outcome militate against its use in this condition. This book presents the work from a research project on neurocysticercosis funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research and describes the role of treatment with albendazole in the management of patient with solitary cerebral cysticercosis. We describe the effect of albendazole therapy on the natural history of cyst evolution as seen on serial magnetic resonance imaging, and on the development of perilesional gliosis, which affects the prognosis of chronic epilepsy.