Atypical presentation of spinal schistosomiasis with involvement of the cervicothoracic spine.

Acta Neurol BelgOct 9, 2025 (epub)
Case ReportNeurologyInfectious DiseasesRadiology (Diagnostic)Open access

Benjamin Hebant, Romain Lefaucheur, Gilles Gargala

✦ AI-curated · Sources linked

Case in brief

A 25-year-old man with a history of residence in Eritrea and Nigeria developed progressive tetraparesis over 2 months, with sensory impairment below C6 and tetrapyramidal signs. MRI showed longitudinally extensive cord T2 hyperintensity from C6 to T11 with diffuse, nodular, heterogeneous enhancement. Cerebrospinal fluid showed pleocytosis, including 14% eosinophils, and elevated protein; testing for other infectious causes was unrevealing. PCR detected Schistosoma mansoni DNA in blood and cerebrospinal fluid, confirming spinal schistosomiasis. After praziquantel, his clinical course was favourable, and MRI at 6 months showed marked reduction of the T2 abnormality and no enhancement.

What made this case unusual

The lesion involved the cervicothoracic cord, extending from C6 to T11; follow-up MRI also documented radiological improvement after treatment.

Diagnostic / clinical pearl

In a patient with longitudinally extensive myelitis and eosinophils in cerebrospinal fluid, consider spinal schistosomiasis; PCR detection of S. mansoni DNA in blood and CSF confirmed the diagnosis in this case.

Source

PubMed · PMID 41065993Free full text on PubMed Central

Published in Acta Neurol Belg. This summary was written by xxcode from the publication's abstract and metadata. It is not peer reviewed and is not a substitute for the original article. For clinical decisions, review the original publication.

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