RFK Jr. Says He Had a Brain Parasite. Here ’ s How That Can Happen

Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he suffered memory loss and severe brain fog more than a decade ago, potentially related to a parasite in his brain, according to the New York Times. In a 2012 deposition reviewed by the Times, Kennedy said a worm “got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died.” He said the cognitive issues later resolved. Around the same time, the Times reports, Kennedy was also diagnosed with mercury poisoning, which can also result in cognitive issues. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Though they sound like something straight out of a horror movie, parasites can and do affect the human brain. Here’s what to know. How do parasites get into the brain? According to the Times‘ reporting, Kennedy said he did not know which type of parasite affected him, but experts told the Times it likely came from the larvae of a tapeworm sometimes found in pork. People can ingest a tapeworm’s eggs by eating contaminated food or water, resulting in the parasitic infection cysticercosis—which is called neurocysticercosis when it affects the brain. Most often, people contract neurocysticercosis not directly from eating pork, but through exposure to fecal contamination, says Scott Gardner, curator of the Manter Laboratory of Parasitology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. If someone eats undercooked pork carrying a tapeworm, they may later pass the worm’s eggs through their feces....
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate Source Type: news