I don't know ... I just know I am grossed out by this story.
On Nov 24, 2008, at 2:07 PM, Aisha Jordan wrote: > did she inhale the food through her nose? jeez... > > On Mon, Nov 24, 2008 at 2:56 PM, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Good Morning America| > World News| > 20/20| > Primetime| > Nightline| > This Week| > ABC News Now| > i-Caught| > ABC.com > Home| > World| > U.S.| > Investigative| > Politics| > Polls| > Money| > Health| > Entertainment| > ESPN Sports| > SciTech| > Law| > Travel| > On Campus > > > Home > Health > OnCall+ Pain Management > It's Not a Tumor, It's a Brain Worm > > Doctor Surprised to Find a Worm Living Inside a Woman's Brain > > By LAUREN COX > ABC News Medical Unit > Nov. 24, 2008 > > 32 comments > FONT SIZE > EMAIL > PRINT > SHARE > RSS > Late last summer, Rosemary Alvarez of Phoenix thought she had a > brain tumor. But on the operating table her doctor discovered > something even more unsightly -- a parasitic worm eating her brain. > > Doctors say the worm could have come from eating tainted food. > Alvarez, 37, was first referred to the Barrow Neurological Institute > at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix with balance > problems, difficulty swallowing and numbness in her left arm. > > An MRI scan revealed a foreign growth at her brain stem that looked > just like a brain tumor to Dr. Peter Nakaji, a neurosurgeon at the > Barrow Neurological Institute. > > "Ones like this that are down in the brain stem are hard to pick > out," said Nakaji. "And she was deteriorating rather quickly, so she > needed it out." > > Yet at a key moment during the operation to remove the fingernail- > sized tumor, Nakaji, instead, found a parasite living in her brain, > a tapeworm called Taenia solium, to be precise. > > Related > > 6 Die From Brain-Eating Amoeba in Lakes > > Scorpion Venom: Next Brain Cancer Weapon? > > Pain Can Harm Your Brain > "I was actually quite pleased," said Nakaji. "As neurosurgeons, we > see a lot of bad things and have to deliver a lot of bad news." > > When Alvarez awoke, she heard the good news that she was tumor-free > and she would make a full recovery. But she also heard the > disturbing news of how the worm got there in the first place. > > Nakaji said someone, somewhere, had served her food that was tainted > with the feces of a person infected with the pork tapeworm parasite. > > "It wasn't that she had poor hygiene, she was just a victim," said > Nakaji. > > > Pork Tapeworms a Small, But Growing Trend > > "We've got a lot more of cases of this in the United States now," > said Raymond Kuhn, professor of biology and an expert on parasites > at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. "Upwards of 20 > percent of neurology offices in California have seen it." > > The pork tapeworm has plagued people for thousands of years. The > parasite, known as cysticercosis, lives in pork tissue, and is > likely the reason why Jewish and Muslim dietary laws ban pork. > > Kuhn said whether you get a tapeworm in the intestine, or a worm > burrowing into your brain can depend on how you consumed the parasite. > > > 1 > | > 2 > NEXT > > Read 32 Comments and Post Your Own > Next Story: Bright New World: Surgery Helps Boy's Eyes > SHARE > DIGG > DELICIOUS > FACEBOOK > PRINT > EMAIL > RSS > UPLOAD > > > Comment & Contribute > If you would like to tell us more facts about this story, please > click here to send the editors of ABC News a separate email with the > information you have. > > > Welcome to ABCNews.com. > Javascript is not enabled on your browser. Please enable javascript > to use the community features on this page. If your browser does not > support javascript, please visit our browser upgrade page for a list > of supported web browsers. > Member Comments (32) > View All Comments (32) > More Coverage > WATCH: Live Worm Found in Woman's Brain > Scorpion Venom: Next Brain Cancer Weapon? > 'Hidden' Brain Abnormalities Common > 6 Die From Brain-Eating Amoeba in Lakes > Pain Can Harm Your Brain > > Watch Video > > > > > > Health News > Bright New World: Surgery Helps Boy's Eyes > America's Looming Health Care Disaster > Spinal Fusion Procedure Relieves Back Pain > WATCH: Men and Doctors Appointments > PHOTOS: Boy With Heart Outside Chest > > > Slideshows > > > > > > Top Stories > > > > > > ABC News to Go > RSS Feeds > Podcasts > E-mail Newsletters > ABC News Mobile > > > Most Popular > Viewed > Commented > Emailed > > > > > > ABC News Features > > > > > Feedback| > Wireless| > E-mails & News Alerts| > Message Boards| > RSS Headlines| > Podcasts| > ABC News Store > Contact Us| > Site Map| > Advertising Info| > Terms of Use| > Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights > External links are provided for reference purposes. 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