Numbness, blurred vision, convulsions, dizziness... For 16 years, Zhanjiang citizen Liu Yu (pseudonym) has been suffering from illness. Recently, Liu Yu was diagnosed with neurocysticercosis in Guangdong Sanjiu Brain Hospital, and the doctor has successfully removed the left cerebellar hemisphere cysticercosis for him.
Doctors said the patient's illness may be related to the fact that he ate uncooked pork with parasites, and the knife and cutting board of raw and cooked meat were not separated, which may also lead to infection.
Strange disease! Numbness follows by loss of consciousness
Liu Yu is 50 years old, and since about 16 years ago, his body has developed strange symptoms. At first the lips are numb, then the right hand is numb, then the vision is blurred, and then the person gradually loses consciousness. This symptom usually lasts for seconds or minutes.
For 16 years, Liu Yu has had such symptoms whenever he is nervous or stimulated, with an average of more than a dozen times a year. In 2012 and 2013, he recalled, the symptoms appeared more frequently, about three or four times a month.
"I only had one big convulsion in my mind, and I fainted and was unconscious." Liu Yu said that in the future, whenever he has a little symptom, he will take a painkiller that will allow him to return to normal before he loses consciousness. Liu Yu therefore regards the painkiller as a "panacea".
It is precisely because of the so-called "panacea", although Liu Yu has gone to the hospital for examination over the years, indicating multiple intracranial lesions, he has not been treated.
scare! Cysts are found in the head and lower extremities
In March this year, Liu Yu had a severe headache for two consecutive weeks and walked unevenly, so he went to Guangdong Sanjiu Brain Hospital for medical treatment. According to Wu Jie, director of the sixth department of neurology of the hospital, the patient's imaging examination suggested multiple intracranial mass lesions, and combined with the medical history, it was considered to be intracranial multiple cerebrocysticercosis.
After improving the relevant examinations, Wu Jie recently performed "left cerebellar cysticercosis mass resection" for patients in the state of general anesthesia. Postoperative pathology suggests neurocysticercosis. In addition to the head, imaging also suggests that the patient also has cysts in both lower extremities.
What is this disease? Wu Jie introduced that cysticercosis is a disease caused by the parasitism of the larvae of pork tapeworm in various tissues of the human body such as brain, eyes, subcutaneous tissue and muscles. If a cyst enters the brain, it can lead to increased intracranial pressure, seizures, or mental disorders. The patient's early seizures and later headache symptoms were caused by intracranial mass lesions caused by neurocysticercosis.
"Cysticercosis infections are mainly related to unhygienic eating habits, such as eating raw pork or uncooked pork, eating vegetables, raw water, food, etc. contaminated eggs." Wu Jie said that the knife and cutting board for cutting raw and cooked meat were not separated, which could also lead to infection.
[Reporter] Zhu Xiaofeng
[Correspondent] Hu Yuhuai
[Proofreading] Yang Yuanyun