Friday, December 14, 2007

Doctors Stop Rare Disease by Splitting Teen’s Brain in Two

In the United Kingdom, doctors split the brain of a teenage girl, named Janine Leach, in two to stop a rare brain-eating disease from spreading. The girl has a disorder called Rasmussen’s Encephalitis which could cause up to 100 seizures a day when surges of electricity in her brain could make her nervous system misfire. She went through the operation to stop the seizures. The operation involved cutting away the diseased half of her brain, but leaving still leaving it inside of her skull to prevent the increased risk of blood clots. The operation stopped the seizures but made her paralyzed on the left side of her body. The doctors say that with physical therapy she has the possibility to walk again in the future.

Read More of the Story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/womenfamily.html?in_article_id=501849&in_page_id=1774&ito=1490

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