Archive · 11 Oct 2026
Hallucinations and Headaches Lead Doctors to Tapeworm Larvae
A 52-year-old woman in the Philippines had headaches for four months.
She also sometimes saw people and animals who were not there.
She began having trouble understanding speech and communicating clearly.
At first, her symptoms seemed like they might be psychiatric.
Doctors found that the problem was in her brain.
Cysts containing tapeworm larvae were scattered throughout it.
This condition is called neurocysticercosis.
The case shows that a parasite can sometimes cause serious problems in the brain.
A 52-year-old woman in the Philippines had headaches and visual hallucinations for four months.
She sometimes saw people and animals who were not actually there.
She also struggled to understand speech and communicate coherently.
Doctors found cysts containing tapeworm larvae scattered throughout her brain.
The case highlights neurocysticercosis, a rare but potentially serious complication of parasitic infection.
- Who
- A 52-year-old woman in the Philippines.
- What
- Doctors found cysts containing tapeworm larvae scattered throughout her brain after she developed neurological symptoms.
- When
- Her symptoms lasted four months; the article does not give the date of the case.
- Where
- The Philippines.
- Why
- The symptoms had a neurological cause associated with neurocysticercosis, a complication of parasitic infection.
- Patient
- 52-year-old woman
- Location
- Philippines
- Symptom duration
- Four months
- Reported symptoms
- Headaches, visual hallucinations, difficulty understanding speech, and difficulty communicating coherently
- Finding
- Cysts containing tapeworm larvae scattered throughout the brain
- Condition
- Neurocysticercosis
- Coverage
- The case was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine and covered by Scientific American.