Brendan was just released from Children’s this morning after undergoing another round of IVIg treatment. The treatment itself went well, and a repeat MRI showed something new. It appears that the damage sustained in Brendan’s occipital lobes is showing some improvement, however, along with this improvement, they would anticipate that his vision would improve as well. After testing his vision again, it was noted that there was no improvement or change. One explanation for that could be the fact that the MRI also showed a new finding of damage to the basal ganglia in the brain where the caudate nucleus is located. The caudate nucleus acts as an organizer and assists the frontal lobes in prioritizing the transfer of information to other parts of the brain. Messages from several parts of the brain are sent to the frontal lobes at the same time with a request. If the caudate and its connections with the frontal lobes are damaged, the brain cannot transfer the information effectively. When this happens, it makes it difficult for the affected person to prioritize tasks, and complete tasks where the use of their motor skills is required. This could explain why even though there has been some improvement; Brendan is still unable to see. Unfortunately, as of now, there is no treatment for damage to the caudate and basal ganglia, Brendan’s brain still remains a mystery. Krista plans to forward the new information on to Mayo and ask that they review it as well. It is becoming more and more frustrating as we seem to be given more explanations as to why he cannot see, but there is no current treatment available to improve the damage to the caudate or basal ganglia. We do, however, remain hopeful that because the other parts of Brendan’s brain that sustained damage, have begun to show improvement and repair themselves, that he is indeed a unique case and quite possibly the only one of his kind. We will continue to pray that Brendan’s brain will completely repair itself. Please continue to keep the Staub Family in your thoughts and prayers as they continue their journey towards what we hope might be a final treatment option. As always, they thank you for your continued support. Thanks. Chrissy Hayes chayes@wustl.edu
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