Tuesday, August 11, 2015

One Man Lost Most of His Brain and Didn't Even Notice

If we had anything even approaching a decent stroke association this guys brain would be studied to death for how all the necessary brain functions are packed into what little was left of his brain. That could inform us survivors how extreme damage can be overcome instead of our doctors informing us 'You won't get better'. With this as a guide, 100% recovery for all should be possible.
http://www.newser.com/story/210858/one-man-lost-most-of-his-brain-and-didnt-even-notice.html?
As it turns out maybe the Scarecrow didn't need that brain after all. Real Clear Science revisits a bizarre case from 2007 in which a relatively normal 44-year-old man—married, two kids, job—turned out to have been going about his life without most of his brain. In fact, the discovery was only made when the man went to a hospital in France because his leg was feeling weak. According to a New Scientist article published when the case was revealed in July 2007, one neurologist estimated the man was missing more than 50% to 75% of his brain but—other than a slightly below-average IQ of 75, per the study in the Lancet—was suffering no ill effects. Real Clear Science reports the man's condition stemmed from a case of hydrocephalus (an excessive buildup the cerebrospinal fluid that cushions your brain) suffered as a baby. At that time, doctors inserted a shunt into the man's skull to drain the fluid. But when the shunt was removed at age 14, fluid again started building up, and this time it had three decades to push his brain matter until that matter only lined the edges of his skull (pictures here). According to the New Scientist, neurologists could not explain how the man could function while the parts of the brain that control motion, language, vision, emotions, and more were severely compressed.(Well then study it until you do understand, that's called quitting, survivors can't quit) In the end, the case was pointed to as an extreme example of the brain's adaptability.(lazy answer) "If something happens very slowly over quite some time, maybe over decades, the different parts of the brain take up functions that would normally be done by the part that is pushed to the side," said a brain defect specialist not involved in the study.

No comments:

Post a Comment