RFK Jr. had a dead brain worm. How does a parasite get into the brain?

Brain worms have since taken social media by storm The New York Times reported Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s 2012 testimony in which the current presidential candidate said a parasitic worm entered his brain “and ate part of it and then died.”

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

Based on the symptoms described by Kennedy, doctors interviewed The New York Times said the parasite was probably a pork tapeworm, Taenia solium. If someone ingests the eggs – which can spread through the feces of a person with a tapeworm – the eggs can travel to other organs, such as the brain, and form cysts, a condition called neurocysticercosis.

After infection, it can take months to years for symptoms to appear, usually when the cysts begin to die. Seizures and headaches are the most common symptoms of neurocysticercosis. There may also be confusion, difficulty with balance, and lack of attention to people and the environment. This could result in death.

People cannot get this disease from eating undercooked pork unless the pork contains larval cysts. The eggs are typically spread through food, water or contaminated surfaces. Anyone who lives in close proximity to an infected person is at higher risk of infection.

What happens if a tapeworm infects the brain?

Claudia Perez, MD, associate professor and director of the neurology clerkship at Texas Christian University, said that the tapeworm itself does not cause damage, but that the brain’s response to a cyst leads to symptoms.

“What ends up happening is that the silent cysts that live in the brain are actually recognized by one’s own body,” Perez told Verywell. “As soon as your body recognizes that something is there, it triggers an immune response. And what ultimately causes the symptoms is the immune system trying to attack that cyst.”

As a result of this immune reaction, the cyst can rupture, causing swelling, inflammation, and excess fluid in the brain. Perez explained that the worm does not “eat” brain tissue, but can calcify it, resembling a scar on the brain.

Clifford Segil, DO, a neurologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center, said evidence of neurocysticercosis often occurs on imaging for unrelated health problems.

“They are very commonly seen when we do head CT scans of people for other problems, such as headaches, trauma, or mild confusion,” Segil told Verywell. “You see these abnormalities in the brain that look like teeth because they are calcified, or they look like little fragments of bone in the brain.”

How can you prevent getting brain worm?

Segil said people who develop neurocysticercosis multiple times have a higher risk of symptoms such as seizures. Treatment options may include surgery to remove the cysts and antiparasitic and anti-inflammatory medications to eliminate the parasite and reduce inflammation.

According to the CDC, cysticercosis occurs primarily in rural areas of developing countries where pigs roam freely and eat human feces. Sometimes people can get this disease even if they have never traveled outside the United States

To best protect yourself from a tapeworm infection, you should always wash your hands with soap after using the toilet, changing diapers and before handling food.

“To prevent neurocysticercosis infections, one should always go to restaurants where good hygiene exists,” Segil said. “This is the reason why people sometimes shy away from street vendors because they are at high risk from street vendors who sell food containing pork products.”