Anxiety related to brain worms is at an all-time high. Here’s what an expert says you need to know.
Over the past month, “brain worm” anxiety has skyrocketed. In case you missed it, this happened after independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said a worm ate part of his brain and died inside of his head.
You can read more about the story here.
While we’re not here to investigate RFK’s specific claim that a brain worm is dying inside of him, we are here to discuss brain worms in general which are, unfortunately, a thing real that exists.
BuzzFeed spoke with neurosurgeon Betsy Grunch, MD, FAANS, FACS, FCNS, who has been in practice for 11 years. To simplify, Grunch said brain worms is a term used to represent a parasitic infection in the brain. “The most common is from the pork tapeworm, Taenia Solium (or neurocysticercosis),” Grunch explained.
So how could a person be exposed to – and potentially contract – brain worms to begin with? Grunch said brain worms most often come from a pig-to-human transmission cycle. This occurs when a person consumes raw or undercooked pork infected with pork tapeworm (or Taenia Solium). Once the intestinal parasite is present in that person’s body, it can lay eggs. This person will then pass the eggs in their stool. While an intestinal tapeworm cannot travel to the brain on its own, its larvae can. Secretions in the stomach cause the eggs to hatch and the larvae can then enter the bloodstream, where they can be distributed throughout the body, including the brain.
“For example, Person A may consume raw or undercooked pork that has been infected with Taenia Solium. They may then contract intestinal tapeworm, which can cause mild gastrointestinal symptoms, by passing eggs in their stool. Person B can then consume these eggs if person A does not wash his hands after using the toilet and prepares food for person B. Once person B consumes the eggs. Food contaminated with feces prepared by person A, the eggs can hatch and penetrate through the intestinal wall of person B, spreading to other parts of their body – including their brain, eyes and d. “The larvae will then occupy space in Person B’s brain (called neurocysticercosis),” Grunch explained.
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Grunch said digestive issues would be the first symptoms to look out for — and they appear fairly quickly after ingesting a parasite. “You will experience gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea, abdominal pain, and weight loss in particular. That being said, symptoms of a brain infection can take months or even years to develop, as symptoms usually do not appear until the larvae die. When these appear in the brain, symptoms include nausea, convulsions and headache.
If you think you have a parasitic infection, always consult your doctor immediately. “Specific antibodies or antigens in the bloodstream can be checked to see if you have an infection. Sometimes we can obtain CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) through a spinal tap to check for brain worms.”
Grunch said children and adults are susceptible to neurocysticercosis. “Parasitic infection is a common disease. The World Health Organization estimates that up to 8.3 million people worldwide live with neurocysticercosis. In fact, it is one of the leading global causes of “adult-onset epilepsy.”
Additionally, the World Health Organization estimates that approximately 25% of the world’s population suffers from an intestinal parasite-related infection. In tropical and subtropical areas where access to drinking water and sanitation is limited, this figure can reach 50%.
According to Grunch, the best way to prevent brain worms is to not eat undercooked or raw pork and to practice good hand hygiene. Now go ahead and wash your hands!
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