RFK Jr. Had a Dead Brain Worm. How Does a Parasite Get Into the Brain?

Brain worms have taken social media by storm after The New York Times reported on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s 2012 deposition, where the present presidential candidate said a parasitic worm made its approach to his brain “and ate a portion of it after which died.”

Kennedy claimed that the parasite had caused brain damage and memory loss, from which he has since recovered.

Based on the symptoms described by Kennedy, doctors interviewed by The New York Times said the parasite was likely a pork tapeworm, Tape soles. If someone ingests the eggs—which live within the feces of an individual—the eggs can travel to other organs, resembling the brain, causing a condition called neurocysticercosis.

It can take months to years after infection for the symptoms to occur, normally when the cysts start dying. Seizures and headaches are essentially the most common symptoms of neurocysticercosis. Confusion, difficulty with balance, and lack of attention to people and surroundings might also occur. This could end in death.

People cannot get this condition from eating undercooked pork unless the pork incorporates larval cysts. The eggs are typically spread through food, water, or contaminated surfaces. Those who live in close proximity to an infected individual are at the next risk of infection.

What Happens When a Tapeworm Infects the Brain?

Claudia Perez, MDan associate professor and neurology clerkship director at Texas Christian University, said that the tapeworm itself doesn’t cause damage, but moderately the brain’s response to a cyst is what results in symptoms.

“What finally ends up happening is the silent cysts that live within the brain are literally detected by your personal body,” Perez told Verywell. “Once your body detects that something’s there, it mounts an immune response. And so what finally ends up causing the symptoms is the immune system attempting to attack that cyst.”

Following this immune response, the cyst can rupture, resulting in swelling, inflammation, and excess fluid within the brain. Perez explained the worm doesn’t “eat” brain tissue, but it may well turn out to be calcified, resembling a scar on the brian.

Clifford Segil, DOa neurologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center, said the evidence of neurocysticercosis often appears during imaging for unrelated health issues.

“They’re very commonly seen after we get head CTs on people for other issues, for instance, a headache, or a trauma, or somewhat confusion,” Segil told Verywell. “You see these abnormalities within the brain that appear to be teeth because they’re calcified or they appear like little chips of bone within the brain.”

How Can You Avoid Getting a Brain Worm?

Segil said individuals who contract neurocysticercosis multiple times are at the next risk of experiencing symptoms like seizures. Treatment options may include surgery to remove the cysts, in addition to anti-parasitic medications and anti-inflammatories to eliminate the parasite and alleviate inflammation.

Cysticercosis is mostly seen in rural areas of developing countries, where pigs are allowed to roam freely and eat human feces, in response to the CDC. Sometimes people can get this condition even in the event that they’ve never traveled outside of the U.S.

To best protect yourself from a tapeworm infection, you need to all the time wash your hands with soap after using the bathroom, changing diapers, and before handling food.

“To prevent neurocysticercosis infections, one should all the time go to restaurants where there’s good hygiene,” Segil said. “This is a reason people sometimes shrink back from street vendors for food, because street vendors for food with pork products make you at high risk for this.”