Disgusting find in man's brain after complaining of headaches
A man who constantly complained of suffering from headaches has discovered the horrific reason behind his pain - and it had been there for 10 years.
After passing out during a soccer game last year, Gerardo Moctezuma, from Austin, Texas, decided to consult a doctor, telling them he had been feeling off and experiencing terrible headaches for months, according to KXAN.
An MRI later revealed a tapeworm in the middle of Mr Moctezuma’s brain. Physicians said they believed it been in there for about a decade.
Mr Moctezuma’s case is being described as “rare and truly extraordinary” by doctors, according to CBS Austin.
The tapeworm was removed in one piece during surgery, and Mr Moctezuma is now feeling like his normal self.
Doctors believe Mr Moctezuma contracted the worm after eating under-cooked meat over 10 years ago while living in Mexico and it’s been growing in his brain undetected ever since.
Mr Moctezuma had moved from Mexico to the US over a decade ago, Dr. Jordan Amadio, a neurosurgeon at Dell Seton Hospital, said.
Dr Amadio explained tapeworms can go undetected for years.
“They can grow inside the body without causing symptoms until they get big enough,” he said, according to Star Telegram.
Tapeworms cannot survive on their own, only when they are within another organism.
Usually tapeworms enter the host when raw or undercooked meat is consumed and can live for 20 years inside a human. They can grow up to 15-metres-long, according to Medical News Today.
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