Strange But True: Man cured of epilepsy after a live tapeworm was removed from his brain

A 26-year-old man was cured of an inexplainable epileptic fits after a 10cm-long tapeworm was removed from his brain.

A man has been cured of epilepsy after a 10cm-long tapeworm was removed from his brain.

According to the South China Morning Post, doctors discovered a live tapeworm 'swimming' in the man's brain after he was diagnosed of unexplained epilepsy.

The man, a 26-year-old Chinese, was simply identified as Liu in the report.

How tapeworm was discovered in man's brain

According to the report, 26-year-old Liu had been diagnosed with unexplainable epilepsy.

 

Liu had been in good health until recently, when he experienced a number of epileptic fits.

The diagnosis had baffled doctors led by Dr Wang Chunliang, who decided to run some tests on Liu.

Dr Chunliang said series of blood tests carried out on Liu had alerted doctors to the enormous worm living in his brain.

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“The worm was still alive when we took it out.

“It was springy, white all over, and could swim,” said Chunliang.

Specialists at First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University removed the 10cm long tapeworm from Liu's brain after an operation.

How 10cm long tapeworm was got into man's brain - Doctor

According to Guo Hui, an expert, who heads the Shanghai Neuromedical Centre, there are several ways the tapeworm could have gotten into Liu's brain.

The medical doctor said the occurrence can happen in cases where people regularly eat uncooked or half-cooked meat and seafood.

In the case of Liu, he was reported have been a lover of grilled food.

Hui further explained that a worm or egg which is not killed by cooking can travel through the blood, reaching the brain or other organs.