Cerebral sparganosis: Increased uptake of technetium-99m-HMPAO

Cerebral sparganosis is an extremely rare intracranial parasitic infectious disease. We report findings of ^99mTc-HMPAO cerebral perfusion SPECT in a case with cerebral sparganosis. SPECT revealed an irregularly shaped area with markedly increased ^99mTc- HMPAO uptake in the parasitic infectious region of the cerebrum. Both white and gray matter was involved, the white matter involved predominantly. Decreased perfusion to the right cerebellum, suggesting cross cerebellar diaschisis, was also demonstrated. This article illustrates that cerebral sparganosis is one of the causes of increased ^99mTc-HMPAO uptake in the cerebrum and should be considered clinically if present.