{"id":5803,"date":"2024-05-08T21:44:41","date_gmt":"2024-05-08T21:44:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=5803"},"modified":"2024-05-08T22:24:42","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T22:24:42","slug":"but-how-does-the-worm-get-in-your-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=5803","title":{"rendered":"But How Does the Worm Get in Your Brain?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<p id=\"article-summary\" class=\"css-1n0orw4 e1wiw3jv0\">And other questions about parasites.<\/p>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1r7ky0e\">\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u2019s disclosure that a doctor apparently <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/08\/us\/rfk-jr-brain-health-memory-loss.html\" title>found<\/a> a dead worm in his brain has sparked questions about what brain parasites are, the damage they can cause and how, exactly, they get there.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-kypbrf eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-6f0ff4d\">How do parasites turn up in people? And what can they do to the brain?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Brain parasites encompass far more than worms. There are \u201clegions\u201d of organisms that can affect the brain, said Scott Gardner, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who specializes in parasites. In addition to worms, common brain parasites include single-celled organisms such as Toxoplasma gondii and some amoeba.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The damage varies depending on the type of parasite and where it ends up in the brain. \u201cSome of them actively invade the tissues and destroy tissues,\u201d said Dr. Daniel Pastula, chief of neuro-infectious diseases and global neurology at University of Colorado Medicine. Others cause problems because of the inflammatory reaction that they trigger.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"css-15h6bi9 e1gnsphs0\" id=\"link-34267f6a\"><span>Tapeworms<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Humans are typically exposed to tapeworms through raw or undercooked food or through food contaminated with feces.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cA lot of these things are transmitted to humans through feces,\u201d said Dr. Edith L. Graham, a neurologist at Northwestern Medicine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/08\/us\/rfk-jr-brain-health-memory-loss.html\" title>Doctors consulted by The New York Times<\/a> speculated that Mr. Kennedy described symptoms of an infection with larvae from the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium, one of multiple types of tapeworm that can infect the brain. When a person accidentally swallows pork tapeworm eggs, the eggs hatch in the intestines, and the larvae can travel to other organs, including the brain. There, they form cysts, causing a condition known as <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/parasites\/cysticercosis\/gen_info\/faqs.html\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">neurocysticercosis<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1336jj\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171d1bw\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F05%2F08%2Fwell%2Flive%2Fbrain-worm-parasites-rfk-jr.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F05%2F08%2Fwell%2Flive%2Fbrain-worm-parasites-rfk-jr.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F05%2F08%2Fwell%2Flive%2Fbrain-worm-parasites-rfk-jr.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F05%2F08%2Fwell%2Flive%2Fbrain-worm-parasites-rfk-jr.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>And other questions about parasites.Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u2019s disclosure that a doctor apparently found a dead worm in his brain has sparked questions about what brain parasites are, the damage they can cause and how, exactly, they get there.How do parasites turn up in people? And what can they do to the brain?Brain parasites encompass far more than worms. There are \u201clegions\u201d of organisms that can affect the brain, said Scott Gardner, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who specializes in parasites. In addition to worms, common brain parasites include single-celled organisms such as Toxoplasma gondii and some amoeba.The damage varies depending on the type of parasite and where it ends up in the brain. \u201cSome of them actively invade the tissues and destroy tissues,\u201d said Dr. Daniel Pastula, chief of neuro-infectious diseases and global neurology at University of Colorado Medicine. Others cause problems because of the inflammatory reaction that they trigger.TapewormsHumans are typically exposed to tapeworms through raw or undercooked food or through food contaminated with feces.\u201cA lot of these things are transmitted to humans through feces,\u201d said Dr. Edith L. Graham, a neurologist at Northwestern Medicine.Doctors consulted by The New York Times speculated that Mr. Kennedy described symptoms of an infection with larvae from the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium, one of multiple types of tapeworm that can infect the brain. When a person accidentally swallows pork tapeworm eggs, the eggs hatch in the intestines, and the larvae can travel to other organs, including the brain. There, they form cysts, causing a condition known as neurocysticercosis.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5805,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5803"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5806,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5803\/revisions\/5806"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}