Overview
- The diagnosis was reported Monday after higher‑resolution MRI and blood antibody testing identified fluid‑filled cysts and Taenia solium larvae that had been mistaken for metastatic brain lesions.
- The 60‑year‑old Castellón resident sought care for two weeks of worsening headaches and subtle behavior change; an initial CT scan suggested metastases but whole‑body imaging found no primary cancer.
- Treating doctors gave antiparasitic drugs albendazole and praziquantel together with corticosteroids to control inflammation, and the patient recovered without complications.
- Authors of the case report say local exposure is likely because the patient had never travelled to endemic regions and had worked with migrant coworkers, but they caution the exact source of infection is not proven.
- Clinicians are urged to include neurocysticercosis in the differential for multiple ring‑enhancing brain lesions because early recognition prevents unnecessary cancer procedures and targets effective antiparasitic therapy; the disease remains common globally but rare in Western Europe.