Human sparganosis is a rare infection caused by a tape worm larva, the genus Spirometra. Most infection occurs in the soft tissue, and sparganosis of the brain is very rare. There is no effective chemotherapy, and the best treatment for cerebral
sparganosis is surgical removal of the worm, as in the case of the noncerebral form.
A 40 year-old Korean man presented a 10 year history of episodic confusion followed by grand mal seizure. He also had a history of consuming snake meat. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed a lesion of the right
temporoparietal lobe. Micro-ELISA test for sparganum specific antibody levels of absorbance 0.39 in serum, and 0.53 in cerebrospinal fluid.
He refused operation, and a single maximal 50 Gy dose of irradiation by gamma knife was done. After 6 months, the lesion had no interval change on brain CT.
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