In Argentina, there is a woman who has had two strokes that did little to no harm to her. Scientists believe that this example will allow millions of people to restore brain function.
A stroke is an acute disorder of cerebral circulation, which leads to the death of a portion of the brain's neurons from oxygen starvation. Stroke is often fatal. In Russia, for example, this violation is the cause of death in 35% of all cases. For those with a stroke, it is extremely difficult to regain physical function. Often such people have to re-learn how to move and speak.
The findings of the Argentinean team's research, published in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, give new hope to millions of stroke victims. The paper describes a unique example of a woman from Argentina. The woman survived two strokes: hemorrhagic and ischemic, but did not receive any noticeable complications. At the time of the first stroke, the woman was 43 years old.
Scientists decided to check the state of the Argentine. The researchers analyzed her ability to distinguish between smells and tastes, and understand the emotions of others. The only difference between women who survived strokes and the control group was the worst sense of smell of the first. In addition, the sensitivity of the right hand was impaired. But memory and language skills were not affected. It is worth noting that the native Argentines living side by side with her also did not notice any changes in the woman's condition. Now she leads her usual lifestyle.
Experts call the case unique. Despite the fact that the patient was faced with damage to many areas of the brain, she retained the ability to live a normal life. Researchers still cannot understand how this is possible at all, and now the woman is under surveillance. It should be said that this case is extremely important in the context of combating acute cerebrovascular accidents and their consequences.
Ilya Vedmedenko