- Cystercosis
Cystercosis is a rare and recently recognized disease that affects the human
nervous system .Etiology
Cystercosis is caused by consuming the larval form of the parasitic
tapeworm "Taenia solium ". The larvae eventually affect themuscle s andbrain , and movinglarvae can be detected in the affected person's eyes. In the brain, the larvae can severely damage thefrontal lobe and cause personality changes.The disease has been found in a small number of patients in
Mexico . It is not directly contagious between humans; it apparently spreads when people eatfruit andvegetables that have been contaminated withpig feces .However, it is extremely rare in
First World countries like the U.S., which have strict laws that forbid farmers from allowing pigs to graze in fields where food is grown.Incubation
The period of incubation for cystercosis is unclear. It can take from two weeks to ten years for a person to fully develop the disease.
ymptoms
The most common symptom among patients of this disease is
mood swings . These might lead people who suffer cystercosis to act strange during certain days. It is recommended that one visit a doctor if one, or a close friend or relative, has visited Mexico and eaten fruits or vegetables there and begin to act in an improper or out of place manner.On
8 December 2004 ,Kevin Keogh , thechief financial officer of the city ofPhoenix, Arizona , died from a bizarre stunt thought to have been induced by cystercosis (he had contracted it while traveling in Mexico two years earlier). He climbed onto the roof of his moving car after setting thecruise control to around 50mile s per hour. He then "surfed" on the top of his car, then jumped and fell to his death.Treatment
As with all serious brain damage, there is no direct treatment available for cystercosis. Patients are sometimes given
antidepressants to help with the mood swings andpsychotherapy to help them resist irrational impulses.
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