Health & Medicine
Twins Strokes at 26: Arizona Women Have Similar Health Problem Nine Months Apart
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: May 29, 2013 01:39 PM EDT
There's something special about the other half, and we're not talking about your spouse. If you're a twin, then you know exactly who and how important that person is.
According to Psychology Today, twins share very similar brain structures that are under relatively the same genetic control. Thus, researchers note that regardless of the relationship between the brains of two genetically similar or identical individuals, they exhibit similar patterns in various aspects of life.
And that's certainly true for Arizona twins Katherine and Kimberly Tucker, who suffered strokes just nine months apart from each other at the age of 26, according to ABC News.
Katherine was the first of the twins to have a problem with vision and a sharp pain in the back of her head that left her feeling numb. When she was taken to the hospital, doctors confirmed what they believed was a migraine with aura, and she went home to sleep it off. Unfortunately, upon waking up, her vision worsened, and it was later determined that she was having a stroke.
Nine months later, her twin, Kimberly also suffered similar symptoms only on the opposite side of the body.
The Pioneer Press notes that the girls are fraternal twins who do not share the same DNA, so it's a bit of mystery for the connection between the two as more twin problems are seen in identical pairs. Their family history also shows no strokes in the past.
"Honestly, it's rare for us to actually evaluate two sisters who've had strokes within months of each other," said Dr. Joni Clark, a vascular neurologist at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, according to the Examiner.com. "If they had a family history, it would not be a surprise. It's quite uncommon."
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First Posted: May 29, 2013 01:39 PM EDT
There's something special about the other half, and we're not talking about your spouse. If you're a twin, then you know exactly who and how important that person is.
According to Psychology Today, twins share very similar brain structures that are under relatively the same genetic control. Thus, researchers note that regardless of the relationship between the brains of two genetically similar or identical individuals, they exhibit similar patterns in various aspects of life.
And that's certainly true for Arizona twins Katherine and Kimberly Tucker, who suffered strokes just nine months apart from each other at the age of 26, according to ABC News.
Katherine was the first of the twins to have a problem with vision and a sharp pain in the back of her head that left her feeling numb. When she was taken to the hospital, doctors confirmed what they believed was a migraine with aura, and she went home to sleep it off. Unfortunately, upon waking up, her vision worsened, and it was later determined that she was having a stroke.
Nine months later, her twin, Kimberly also suffered similar symptoms only on the opposite side of the body.
The Pioneer Press notes that the girls are fraternal twins who do not share the same DNA, so it's a bit of mystery for the connection between the two as more twin problems are seen in identical pairs. Their family history also shows no strokes in the past.
"Honestly, it's rare for us to actually evaluate two sisters who've had strokes within months of each other," said Dr. Joni Clark, a vascular neurologist at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, according to the Examiner.com. "If they had a family history, it would not be a surprise. It's quite uncommon."
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone