Blepharoptosis and cysticercosis.

The recent report on ptosis and cysticercosis is very interesting (Labh et al, 2013). The authors mentioned that that was a rare presentation of cysticercosis and also noted that “extraocular cysticercosis could be treated with oral steroid and albendazole”. Indeed, cysticercosis is a tissue infection and can be seen at any organ including the eyes. The ocular presentation of cysticercosis is not extremely rare and should be kept in mind by all practitioners dealing with any patients with eye complaints from endemic areas. Focusing on ptosis, there are many previous reports on this symptom as the chief complaint of ocular cysticercosis. Generally, the problem is usually unilateral and imaging technology can be helpful in presumptive diagnosis (Basu et al, 2009; Malhotra et al, 2011). The problem is sometimes misdiagnosed as an inflammatory disorder (Malhotra et al, 2011). However, it should be noted that not only cysticercosis but also other soft tissue parasitic infestations including sparganosis and gnathosomiasis can present as “ptosis” (Wiwanitkit et al, 2012).