Giant intradural extramedullary spinal hydatid cyst--a rare presentation.

The hydatidosis, or echinococcosis, has a characteristic geographic distribution, occurring most frequently in sheep-raising regions in Mediterranean, Central Asian, and South American countries and in Australia. Spinal hydatidosis is very rare, and intradural location is a rarer category of spinal hydatidosis. We report a case of intradural extramedullary spinal hydatid cyst in a 9-year-old boy.

Isolated intramedullary spinal cysticercosis in a 10-year-old female showing dramatic response with albendazole.

Neurocysticercosis is the most common parasitic infection of the central nervous system caused by larvae of Taenia solium. Spinal cysticercosis is an uncommon site of cysticercal infection, and isolated intramedullary involvement is even rarer. We present a case of 10-year-old girl who presented with gradual onset paraparesis with sensory loss and bowel and bladder incontinence.

Balo's concentric sclerosis involving bilateral thalami.

Balo's concentric sclerosis (BCS) is a rare inflammatory demyelinating disease of central nervous system, pathologically characterized by alternate bands of demyelination and preserved myelin tissue. Before the era of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), most cases of BCS were diagnosed on postmortem examination. MRI allows for noninvasive diagnosis by demonstrating characteristic changes which closely parallels the histopathological features of BCS.