World of the Bizarre

Woman in China born without a cerebellum

By T.K. Randall
September 12, 2014 ·   comments

Image: Inside My Head
Credit: Andrew Mason / CC BY 2.0 (adapted) Damage to the brain can quickly prove fatal, but one woman in China appears to have gone through her whole life with a rather large and vital area of her brain missing completely.

The 24-year-old had originally visited a clinic because she had been suffering from nausea and vertigo, but when doctors examined her and conducted an MRI scan of her brain they were amazed to discover that her cerebellum, the part of the brain responsible for fine motor movements, wasn't there at all.She is one of only a few people in the whole world to have ever been diagnosed with the condition. Despite experiencing some mild impairments through her life such as difficulties walking steadily and issues with pronouncing words, the woman had otherwise lead a normal life with few ill-effects. She had even been married and had given birth to a child who was perfectly healthy.

Due to the extreme rarity of the condition there is no current medical explanation for how it occurs nor how an individual can function relatively normally with such a large part of their brain missing.

Source: IFL Science | Comments ()

Tags: Brain, Cerebellum