RFK Jr. is not alone. More than a billion people have parasitic worms

[RandySF]

NPR spoke with Francisca Mutapi, a professor of global health infection and immunity at the University of Edinburgh who has studied parasites for 25 years. She shared her insights on what might have happened to RFK Jr. – and the toll that parasitic worms take around the world. The conversation was edited for length and clarity........

Where might these larvae travel in the body and what harm can they bring?

For example, if the larvae end up in the eyes, they can cause blurred vision and blindness. If they end up in the muscle, they can cause weak muscles. But if they end up in any part of your central nervous system – your spine or brain – then they cause a form of disease that's called neurocysticercosis.

And this particular form of the disease will range depending on your immune system and your health status and where exactly those larvae have ended up. It can cause headaches and seizures. For example, the disease is the leading cause of the onset of epilepsy in adults. It can also cause issues with cognition. And some people have problems with balancing problems, with lack of attention and also confusion. Excess fluid in the brain can actually make this a very dangerous condition. And in very, very rare cases, people do die from neurocysticercosis.




https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/05/09/npr-rfk-jr-brain-parasitic-worm-tapeworm-kennedy

[eppur_se_muova]

1. Interesting book --

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/287651

The Woman with a Worm in Her Head: And Other True Stories of Infectious Disease
Pamela Nagami, F. González-Crussí (Foreword by)

[CTyankee]

2. Is this something else I need to worry about? If not, can you wake me in about 8 hours so I can see if my brain and the

current time (EDT)) are in synch?

[thucythucy]

4. There's a worm in my brain that keeps me up at night

and that is the worry that there might be a worm in my brain.

[SarahD]

3. Ivermectin.

The anti-science people promote it as a cure for covid, but that may be doing some good because Ivermectin kills parasites, even though it has no effect on covid.

[TexLaProgressive]

7. Ivomec does not readily pass the blood/brain barrier.

Couldn’t copy the paragraph. So here’s the link.
https://med.virginia.edu/toxicology/wp-content/uploads/sites/268/2021/10/Oct21-Ivermectin.pdf

[SarahD]

9. I wondered about that.

It would have to kill the parasite before it got to the brain. And it might not kill that particular parasite. He should have followed Trump's advice and injected bleach into his brain. Did I get that right?

[LeftInTX]

11. There are many effective drugs that treat intestinal worms.

They're easy to control in intestines.

RFK jr, thinks he got tapeworms from traveling in South Asia. When they're in intestines, they are often asymptomatic. Maybe engaging in post travel physical check ups? My sister travels to India and she recently found out that she was harboring chronic salmonella.
https://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Tapeworms-in-Humans

Tapeworm infections are extremely common in dogs and cats.

[Towlie]

5. There are things we don't know we don't know, but there are also things we don't WANT to know.

[k55f5r]

6. But only two of that million people

Are running for president.
Looks like a pretty easy choice to me ... Biden or worms.

[brush]

8. Ok, how many of the others with a worm eating their brain...

are running for president and publicly admits that a worm has eaten some of their brain.

Some of the part eaten must be what controlled his voice.

[bucolic_frolic]

10. I understand Trump did a lot with his worm too

[GreenWave]

12. Judge sai we can't go there!