Archive for the ‘Neurology’ Category
Dr. Paul has been fond of saying that he has never seen a medical case in which he would advise abortion.
What about anencephaly? One of the, um, joys of medical school is learning almost every possible horrendous disorder that can take place in babies. Next to nasty professors and even nastier colleagues, this is what I dislike most about medical school. I digress.
Anencephaly results from a neural tube defect whereby the forebrain, overlying meninges, vault of the skull and skin are all absent. Most of these cases result in stillbirths, and those that result in live births lead to the death of the baby usually within hours. This is a unique case because the forebrain is the part of the brain that deals with consciousness. These babies essentially lack the part of the brain that has to do with being human, and there is no chance, whatsoever, that they will survive.
This condition can be diagnosed with both ultrasound (half of the baby’s head is missing) and by detection of high levels of alpha-fetoprotein in the amniotic fluid and serum of the mother.
What I am asking is not a political question, but a moral question: If you believe that abortion is immoral in all cases, why? Why should this pregnancy, which is certain to result in death and is marked by the absence of a forebrain, be carried to term?
I am posting this because I am genuinely curious, so please, post your thoughts.
This is a really fascinating story. Essentially, there was a brain injured patient who had been in a minimally conscious state for the past six years. The man was the unfortunate victim of an assault which led to severe brain damage.
Essentially, doctors put a wire deep into his brain and sent electrical impulses into his brain on and off for around six months. The result: he can speak a little bit (he was even able to recite half of the pledge of allegiance).
This offers a great deal of promise to many other patients also suffering from serious brain injuries. Unfortunately, this patient will not be recovering fully, but, as his mother said,
Now, my son can eat, express himself and let us know if he is in pain. He enjoys a qualify of life we never thought possible
Modern medicine is pretty cool. Wanna see how a deep brain stimulator works? Check out this video!
Here are some news articles about this case:
Brain-Injured Man Speaks After 6 Years
Brain-Injured Man ‘Jump Started’ Awake
So, go and read these articles. They’re pretty cool. I’m going to do some more reading about deep brain stimulation, and try to write a little more about it on this blog.