Posted on 12/10/2004 5:13:28 AM PST by NCjim
Uh, maybe cruise control?
Cruise control
The Tingler? Yes, when I read the head, I immediately thought he was fighting a huge parasite.
Maybe "The worm turned?"
< in best Shatner voice >"there's.....something on the wing"
No, I think certain types can spread to cause Cysticerci in the brain.
I don't know about those new-fangled Merceded Benz cars, but my little Toyota has this thingey called "cruise control." Must be something Japanese. I guess they don't have those in Germany.
Mark
sorry, I couldn't resist that...
Nope, a little research and I have proved myself wrong. Tapeworms it is!
There is nothing we can do to replace Kevin, City Manager Frank Fairbanks said at a news conference. Kevin was more than a professional; he was a person.
Talk about heaping on accolades-----LOL!
Cysticercosis
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Pigs normally serve as the intermediate host for the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium, and humans are infected with the adult stage of the tapeworm when they ingest an immature tapeworm (a cysticercus) in raw or undercooked pork.
However, if humans ingest eggs of T. solium, they can be infected with cysticerci, resulting in a condition known as cysticercosis. What might be the source of these eggs? Humans harbor the adult stage of this tapeworm, and it is the adult stage that produces eggs. Thus, many cases of cysticercosis probably result from a person ingesting eggs that are produced by a tapeworm living in his or her own intestinal tract.
Poor personal hygiene is one obvious way in which this could occur. It is also possible for the proglottids of T. solium to migrate anteriorly from the small intestine into the stomach and then back into the small intestine. Should this occur the eggs in the proglottids would hatch resulting in the potential for a massive infection of cysticerci.
People can also be infected via food contaminated with eggs, or via eggs present in a household or work environment. Since the tapeworm's proglottids can crawl out of the anus and contaminate clothing, furniture, etc., or drop to the ground, such contamination could occur in the absence of any visible source of "fecal" contamination.
Once the eggs hatch in the human's small intestine, the larvae penetrate the lining of the small intestine and enter the blood stream. From here the larvae can be distributed to any organ in the body. The larvae then grow into the metacestode stage, a cysticercus. Mature cysticerci can range in size from 5 mm in diameter up to 20 cm (almost 8 inches!) in diameter.
The pathology associated with cysticercosis depends on which organs are infected and the number of cysticerci. An infection consisting of a few small cysticerci in the liver or muscles would likely result in no overt pathology and go unnoticed. In fact, many cases of human cysticercosis are discovered only during routine autopsies. On the other hand, even a few cysticerci (perhaps only one), if located in a particularly "sensitive" area of the body, might result in irreparable damage.
For example, a cysticercus in the eye might lead to blindness, a cysticercus in the spinal cord could lead to paralysis, or a cysticercus in the brain (neurocysticercosis) could lead to traumatic neurological damage. Thus, even though infections with adult T. solium are rarely a problem, treatment of such infections is absolutely essential.
Historically, diagnosis of cysticercosis has been difficult. However, there are now several immunological tests available that will detect the presence of cysticerci, and improved imaging techniques such as CAT and MRI can be very useful in detecting cysticerci in various organs.
The worms go out
The worms came out of his little snout
I heard a slightly different version...
The worms crawl in,
The worms crawl out,
The worms play peanuckle on your snout
They put you on a slice of bread, and now you know what worms eat when you're dead!
Mark
Was it Jesse or Al?
Dang, that is the second person I have heard of who died from imitating that little DeCaprio scene in Titanic.
Sounds like this guy was on angel dust or something. Or intoxicated.
I knew someone who did something similar 20 years ago while drunk, but he got out to take a leak and someone else was driving.
He lived thru that, but just died recently in a alcohol related car crash. Go figure.
Neurocysticercosis(NCC) is the most common parasitic infection of the brain affecting more than 50 million people all over the world. NCC is caused by infection of the larvae of the pig tapeworm Taenia solium(TS). Pigs become infected when they ingest contaminated human faeces. If someone ingests diseased (measly) pork meat containing larva forms of this tapeworm or ingests its eggs when eating contaminated foods, the parasite fins its way to the small intestine where they become mature. From here the parasite spreads to the brain to form of cystic lesions, also affecting the eyes, muscles or spinal cord.
This parasite can live for years sometimes for entire life-times in the brains of humans who can be free of symptoms, particularly so in HIV infected patients. In HIV patients where the immune system is compromised the parasite remains alive far longer in the brain, but its is a two way street. Neurocysticercosis debilitates the body's defense system and these patients become much more susceptible to get infection and are more prone to develop AIDS. In HIV-positive patients with NCC, epilepsy, epileptic attacks and seizures are the symptoms most commonly observed.
In non-HIV patients the parasite symptoms differ from country to country but in general the most common symptoms include epileptic attacks , headaches, visual and skin problems, and psychiatric manifestations. Any person living, visiting or in close contact with persons from endemic areas such as Latin American, Asian, or African countries could be a candidate for NCC. If you are in that group and you developed epilepsy later in your life (though younger ages are not an exclusion criteria) you could be a candidate. Diagnosis by a health professional could rule out NCC as a cause. Radiographic tests such as Computer Tomography (CT Scan) of the brain is the best confirmatory test, as it identifies most of the cystic lesions and also the head of the parasites (see image to the right). The CT Scan test is available in most cities in South Africa and for patients requiring special care the New Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital a National Reference Center is an option. Alternative ways do exist in case CT Scan is not available.
The medication of choice for infection of the brain by this tapeworm is praziquantel or albendazol taken with steroids under medical supervision. These anti-parasitic medications kill parasites in all stages of their development in the human brain, eyes or muscles. Most patients respond very well to one-day treatments with praziquantel. However, for people living in endemic areas who remain susceptible to re-infection, periodical treatment is necessary.
The good news is that after the treatment the damage to the brain is 100 % reversible in most cases and only a few require intensive medical attention.
National figures for NCC remain unknown. NCC is a disease of poverty and underdevelopment and its dissemination is permanent in areas where the population have a limited or non-existent access to primary health care attention, health education, proper access to toilet facilities, proper refuse disposal, safe and clean water, electricity, employment, and money. The former Transkei areas of Southern Africa are perhaps hardest hit. According to Prof Foyaca patients are treated for NCC with young children more so than adults. While this situation persists the number of infected immigrants to developed areas will continue increasing. Patients diagnosed in Soweto, Cape Town, and other places are migrants from impoverished regions of Southern Africa.
Although we can't expect radical changes we may contribute to reduce the risks to this disease by:
and a sunroof..
If I recall..one of the TV medical shows..CSI? had a plot about this a few weeks ago..
Kevin Keogh, 55, died about 3 p.m. after he climbed onto the roof of the car he was driving east on Camelback Road with arms outstretched, similar to actor Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie Titanic.
Is this a copy cat incident? I thought Leo turned blue and died.
I love journalists.
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