This extraordinary case of “flattened brain”, “almost absent” on MRI, is described in an article in the medical journal The Lancet published in 2007 by three doctors from the Timone hospital in Marseille.
The patient complaining at the origin of a motor deficit in the leg tells his doctor that he was treated at a younger age for hydrocephalus. This neurological condition causes a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid inside the skull. This disease significantly reduces intellectual capacity and life expectancy in the absence of treatment.
During a first intervention at the age of 6 months, the patient is given a bypass of the cerebral ventricles in order to convey the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to the heart cavity, which allows it to be relieved of a cranial “too full” to survive. A childhood without major problems follows until the age of 14 when a similar surgical operation is performed again.
A foolproof brain power to adapt
Thirty years later, following several brain imaging exams, neurologist Lionel Feuillet and his team discover the state of their patient’s brain.
As atrophied, a large part of the brain was stranded against the cranial walls pushed by the CSF from year to year, leaving only a small part having gradually managed to adapt.
Despite an below average neuropsychological test result with an IQ of 75, the 44-year-old, married, two children and working in the public service, does not appear to be distressed by his condition in the least. He is fully capable of living a “life considered as normal”, underlines Dr. Feuillet, as evidenced by his social and professional life. A third lead was enough to normalize her neurological condition in just a few weeks.
“[Ce cas] illustrates the amazing plasticity of the brain. In this man, as it was not a sudden phenomenon, the brain adapted during development to the stress to which it was subjected due to hydrocephalus “, concludes Professor Pelletier, co- author of the article interviewed by The world.
A positive note that pleases researchers as to the good prognosis of operations for large hydrocephalus in children.
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