Brainworms kill 50000 people a year
Three years ago, a 38-year-old resident of Boston (USA) was fast
asleep next to his wife and suddenly fell to the floor in
convulsions. He uttered meaningless words and clearly did not
understand what was happening to him. The family called an
ambulance and the doctors were horrified to find blood in his
mouth - fortunately, he just bit his tongue. The case turned out to
be very strange, because upon further examination of the man, no
signs of chronic diseases that could cause seizures were found.
For a while, the man suppressed the symptoms with sedatives,
but then doctors found the source of his problems. It turned out
that during the years of living in the countryside, a parasitic
worm, which is dangerous for all animals, penetrated into his
brain. According to Science Alert (
https://bit.ly/3DKJBY5),
it was possible to find the cause of the seizures in the man only
after studying his biography. It turned out that about 20 years
ago he lived in one of the rural areas of Guatemala. In the images
of his brain, doctors found several cysts - the so-called cavities
in tissues or organs that have walls and contents. In the course
of further study, it turned out that these formations remained
as a result of the vital activity of parasitic pork tapeworms
(Taenia solium).
The man suffered from neurocysticercosis. This is the name of the
disease that occurs when a person is infected with pork tapeworm.
The disease is believed to threaten the health of millions of people
around the world. Some sources say that 50,000 people die each
year due to pork tapeworms, and the survivors remain disabled for
life. The larvae trapped in the brain caused epilepsy in the man,
because they pressed on some areas of him. According to the
scientific journal American Journal of Tropical Medicine and
Hygiene (
https://bit.ly/3FWKZHR), a 25-year-old Australian
woman once needed brain surgery to remove problem growths.
They led to headaches and blurred vision. As for the Boston man,
he was treated with medications for inflammation, seizures and
parasites. He was discharged from the hospital after 5 days and has
not had symptoms for the third year. However, according to doctor
Andrew Cole, the man will still have to take medication for
seizures. And all because the damage after the cyst will not go
anywhere and can lead to seizures.
