Doctors Drain 44-Year-Old French Man’s Half-Sized Brain, Restore Leg Strength
Updated
Updated · Livescience.com · Jun 15
Doctors Drain 44-Year-Old French Man’s Half-Sized Brain, Restore Leg Strength
1 articles · Updated · Livescience.com · Jun 15
Summary
A 44-year-old man in France sought care after two weeks of mild left-leg weakness, and scans revealed a brain at least half normal size with massive fluid buildup.
CT and MRI showed extremely dilated ventricles had compressed his brain into a thin layer against the skull, likely causing the weakness; neuropsychological testing put his IQ at 75.
Doctors drained the excess fluid and inserted a new shunt, after which he regained some leg strength and returned to neurological baseline within weeks.
The man had needed a shunt at 6 months old for unexplained fluid accumulation, but it was removed at age 14; despite the abnormality, he had worked as a civil servant without obvious deficits.