A 59-year-old Chinese man who had experienced frequent headaches and even seizures over the last 30 years is now able to lead a pain-free life after doctors extracted a 10-cm worm from his brain.
The man, surnamed Zhang, first started experiencing excruciating headaches and seizures in 1989. He was playing cards with friends when his arms and legs started twitching for no reason. He started foaming at the mouth and lost consciousness soon after. His worried family took him to a hospital in Guangzhou where he was diagnosed with epilepsy and prescribed anti-epileptic drugs. Despite taking the drugs regularly over the last 30 years, he still suffered occasional seizures and fainting, as well as frequent headaches. It wasn’t until last month that Zhang learned that his symptoms were actually caused by a worm stuck in his brain.