The idea of an egg-sized tapeworm embedding itself in your brain may sound like the stuff of nightmares, but for one man in Texas, it became a reality.
The man, known only as Gerard, visited his doctor after experiencing headaches that were so severe they caused him to vomit.
Doctors at the Ascension Seton Medical Centre performed MRI scans of the man’s brain, which revealed that an unusual culprit was responsible for the headaches – a huge tapeworm.
The Taenia solium tapeworm was around five centimetres long, indicating that it had been living in Gerard’s brain for at least a decade.
The doctors believe that Gerard likely got the tapeworm from food contaminated with tapeworm eggs.
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Thankfully, doctors were able to perform surgery on Gerard to remove the tapeworm, although they warned of the dangers of living with a tapeworm for several years.
Worryingly, if left untreated, tapeworms in the brain can lead to a parasitic infection called neurocysticercosis, which can cause seizures.
Speaking to IFLScience, Dr Jordan Amadio, who performed the surgery on the patient, explained: “One thousand cases of neurocysticercosis are diagnosed in the US every year, according to the literature, but only a small fraction requires brain surgery.
“To present as a surgical emergency as a solitary cluster of larvae near the brainstem, and then to be cured with an operation, is rare.”
Following his surgery, Gerard is now back at work and recovering well.
Dr Amadio added: “It is always inspiring to be able to remove a harmful lesion from a patient's brain and see such an excellent outcome.”
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