Optic Nerve Cysticercosis: Imaging Findings

 Images from the case of a 50-year-old woman who was referred to our hospital with a 6-month history of a dull headache of the left frontal and temporal region and left ocular pain.

A, Axial contrast-enhanced CT scan (2-mm slice thickness) shows a cystic ring-enhancing lesion in the anterior aspect of the left optic nerve (arrow).

B, Sagittal T2-weighted images confirm that the mass is cystic and is located within the anterior portion of the optic nerve (arrow). There is no associated edema of the adjacent optic nerve.

C, Sagittal T1-weighted images, obtained after the administration of contrast material, show enhancement along the periphery of the cyst involving the adjacent optic nerve (arrows).

D, One-millimeter-thick axial CT scan, obtained through the optic nerve, shows a peripheral soft-tissue mass that is suspicious for a scolex (arrow).

E, Sonogram shows an echogenic mass (arrow) in the distal optic nerve (ON) that corresponds to the soft-tissue mass identified in D (G, globe).