
What Causes Underdevelopment On One Side Of The Body?

Question: Over the past year, I have noticed significant underdevelopment of the right side of my body, which would obviously correspond to a delay, or a lack of growth in the left hemisphere of my brain. Here are some examples... the left side of my face is more developed than the right (less fat, tighter structure, more facial hair); my hair grows slightly longer on the right side of my head than on the left side of my head, which is the only sign of greater development on the right side of my body than the left obviously due to the fact that my hair is above my central nervous system and my spinal chord; my right testicle is delayed in growth, and will not drop as far as my left testicle when coughing; my right foot is more flat-footed than my left foot, resulting in it not being as straight and alined as my left foot when walking; my finger nails grow longer on my left hand that on my right; and lastly, there are portions of my right thy/leg that are almost completely hairless, as opposed to my left thy/leg, which is developing hair normally. I'm a 6 foot 4 inch, 205 pound, 18 year old male, and the main questions I have are... is this a minor birth defect, considering I did have minor complications during my birth, including c-section, and mucous blocking my air way for several seconds after I was delivered? And... will the left hemisphere of my brain catch up to the left when my body is fully done growing? Thanks!
Brief Answer:
brain doesnt grow at this age
Detailed Answer:
Hi
Thanks for writing to health caremagic.
Brain grows only till 6 years. Thereafter it is only increases in connections which happen. No new cells are formed at your age. So it is unlikely that your thinking is correct.
But I think there could be a minor birth insult to the brain which can be responsible for your issue. Do consult a neurologist and get a MRI to really identify any problems in brain. Some problems like birth insult to brain may be irreversible at this age, but if there are other causes identified in MRI like lesion, edema etc, these can be medically treated.
Wishing you great health.
Regards
Dr Arun
brain doesnt grow at this age
Detailed Answer:
Hi
Thanks for writing to health caremagic.
Brain grows only till 6 years. Thereafter it is only increases in connections which happen. No new cells are formed at your age. So it is unlikely that your thinking is correct.
But I think there could be a minor birth insult to the brain which can be responsible for your issue. Do consult a neurologist and get a MRI to really identify any problems in brain. Some problems like birth insult to brain may be irreversible at this age, but if there are other causes identified in MRI like lesion, edema etc, these can be medically treated.
Wishing you great health.
Regards
Dr Arun
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad

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