We thank Drs. Somsri and Viroj Wiwanitkit for their thoughtful commentsCitation1 regarding our recent publication on intraocular cysticercosis.Citation2
The cited study by Madigubba and colleaguesCitation3 provided an excellent analysis of long-term disease trends in a large number of patients, affirming that ocular cysticercosis continues to be an important cause of ocular morbidity. Our literature review, which included several case series from recent years, supported the notion that intraocular cysticercosis remains clinically relevant, particularly in endemic regions, such as India. Two hundred and forty seven (29%) of the 856 cases included in our literature review were from studies published in the last two decades.
Regarding trends in cyst location within the eye, Madigubba and associates astutely postulated that the apparent increased occurrence of intraocular cysticercosis in recent years may, in fact, be related more to improved and less expensive methods of diagnosis, including B-scan ultrasound, which facilitate diagnosis of intraocular cysts.
Although not the focus of our study, we agree that extraocular disease, including central nervous system cysticercosis, which may produce papilledema, can cause vision loss.
REFERENCES
- Wiwanitkit S, Wiwanitkit V. Intraocular cysticercosis. Ocul Immunol Inflamm 20(1):61.
- Wender JD, Rathinam SR, Shaw RE, Cunningham ET, Jr. Intraocular cysticercosis: case series and comprehensive review of the literature. Ocul Immunol Inflamm 19(4):240–5.
- Madigubba S, Vishwanath K, Reddy G, Vemuganti GK. Changing trends in ocular cysticercosis over two decades: an analysis of 118 surgically excised cysts. Indian J Med Microbiol 2007;25(3):214–9.