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Doctors suspected man had brain cancer. He had worms

arstechnica.com

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Re: Doctors suspected man had brain cancer. He had worms

#21
post #3

> The finding surprised the doctors since tapeworms aren’t endemic to Spain and he said he hadn’t traveled. However, the man may have been exposed during his work. Until 10-years prior, when he retired, he had worked in construction, often working alongside people who had migrated from regions where pork tapeworms (Taenia solium) are endemic. The parasitic worms can spread through the fecal-oral route. His doctors sp…

Moral of the story, eating shit and undercooked meat come with risks.

Re: Doctors suspected man had brain cancer. He had worms

#22

if the worms are in the brain the man is likely not fine and won't ever be like before

Half the time, there aren't any symptoms at all: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4621219/

I guess the symptoms might be super hard to identify. llike a cognitive decline on some functions.

Re: Doctors suspected man had brain cancer. He had worms

#23

This is a big fear of mine. I have a course of albendazole once every year just for this. It is de facto over the counter in India. I bought enough to last 4 years, the last time I was there.

I have often thought it might be a wise idea to do some form of prophylactic course against parasitic infections given my extensive travels, but this isn't something that's generally recommended here in the US and I've yet to meet a doctor who would be willing to prescribe deworming without evidence of an active infection. Is this something that's common in India?

Re: Doctors suspected man had brain cancer. He had worms

#24
post #23

This is a big fear of mine. I have a course of albendazole once every year just for this. It is de facto over the counter in India. I bought enough to last 4 years, the last time I was there.

I have often thought it might be a wise idea to do some form of prophylactic course against parasitic infections given my extensive travels, but this isn't something that's generally recommended here in the US and I've yet to meet a doctor who would be willing to prescribe deworming without evidence of an active infection. Is this something that's common in India?

AFAIK there is no prophylactic for pork tapeworms. I'd love to be proven wrong.

Re: Doctors suspected man had brain cancer. He had worms

#25
post #18
post #3

> The finding surprised the doctors since tapeworms aren’t endemic to Spain and he said he hadn’t traveled. However, the man may have been exposed during his work. Until 10-years prior, when he retired, he had worked in construction, often working alongside people who had migrated from regions where pork tapeworms (Taenia solium) are endemic. The parasitic worms can spread through the fecal-oral route. His doctors sp…

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Re: Doctors suspected man had brain cancer. He had worms

#26
post #23

This is a big fear of mine. I have a course of albendazole once every year just for this. It is de facto over the counter in India. I bought enough to last 4 years, the last time I was there.

I have often thought it might be a wise idea to do some form of prophylactic course against parasitic infections given my extensive travels, but this isn't something that's generally recommended here in the US and I've yet to meet a doctor who would be willing to prescribe deworming without evidence of an active infection. Is this something that's common in India?

[deleted]

Re: Doctors suspected man had brain cancer. He had worms

#27
post #5

Ok, and what happened to the man after? Did they remove it? Was he ok and back to normal or forever damaged?

> NCC can be serious, causing seizures, significant neurological deficits, cognitive decline, stroke, and other problems. But it can also be asymptomatic. The severity depends on where in the brain the worms settle. Luckily for the man, the effects were relatively mild. Doctors prescribed him two anti-parasitic drugs, and he recovered. and here is the actual case report: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/32/7/26-0587…

Do the worms disappear after these drugs? Or they just die and are left in the brain?

Re: Doctors suspected man had brain cancer. He had worms

#28

if the worms are in the brain the man is likely not fine and won't ever be like before

The brain is remarkably good at recovering from injury and mapping functions around damaged areas. There have been dozens of reported cases of massive one time injuries that people are able to recover from. Kill the worms and I bet he makes a full recovery.

Re: Doctors suspected man had brain cancer. He had worms

#29
post #21
post #3

> The finding surprised the doctors since tapeworms aren’t endemic to Spain and he said he hadn’t traveled. However, the man may have been exposed during his work. Until 10-years prior, when he retired, he had worked in construction, often working alongside people who had migrated from regions where pork tapeworms (Taenia solium) are endemic. The parasitic worms can spread through the fecal-oral route. His doctors sp…

Moral of the story, eating shit and undercooked meat come with risks.

[flagged]

Re: Doctors suspected man had brain cancer. He had worms

#30
post #23

This is a big fear of mine. I have a course of albendazole once every year just for this. It is de facto over the counter in India. I bought enough to last 4 years, the last time I was there.

I have often thought it might be a wise idea to do some form of prophylactic course against parasitic infections given my extensive travels, but this isn't something that's generally recommended here in the US and I've yet to meet a doctor who would be willing to prescribe deworming without evidence of an active infection. Is this something that's common in India?

[flagged]
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