A 30-year-old man from a rural area presents with new-onset generalized tonic-clonic seizures. MRI brain reveals multiple cystic lesions with eccentric scolex in the parenchyma and subarachnoid space. The most likely causative organism is:
- A Taenia saginata
- B Echinococcus granulosus
- C Taenia solium ✓
- D Schistosoma japonicum
Correct answer: C. Taenia solium
Explanation
Neurocysticercosis is caused by the larval stage of Taenia solium (pork tapeworm). Humans acquire it by ingesting T. solium eggs via fecal-oral transmission. The scolex within the cyst is pathognomonic. T. saginata does not cause cysticercosis in humans. Echinococcus causes hydatid cysts without a scolex. Schistosoma causes granulomatous disease, not cystic lesions.
Reference: Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease, 10th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.