Neurocysticercosis, a parasitic brain infection that Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr. reported having, “does not eat the brain,” Dr. John E. Greenlee, a professor of neurology at the University of Utah, told The Epoch Times.
Swallowing Tapeworm Eggs–Not Pork–Causes Infection
In his radio interview on “Pushing the Limits“ on Wednesday, Mr. Kennedy told host Brian Shapiro that years ago, a neurosurgeon suspected he had neurocysticercosis.Neurocysticercosis is an infection caused by tapeworm eggs. The most common tapeworm eggs infecting humans belong to Taenia solium (pork tapeworm), which comes from pigs.
The condition primarily affects people in countries like Mexico, India, sub-Saharan Africa, China, Brazil, and Indonesia, where the disease is endemic.
Dr. Greenlee said that while neurocysticercosis is rare among most Americans, pig farmers are at a higher risk of developing such infections due to environmental exposure to T. solium.
In the radio interview, Mr. Kennedy said he has litigated in Iowa and North Carolina against large hog farms and that infections by T. solium were known to exist with “some frequency among farmers.”
Contrary to popular belief, neurocysticercosis is generally not caused by eating raw or undercooked pork.
Eating undercooked pork can lead to a tapeworm infection but not a tapeworm-egg infection. A person must ingest the eggs to contract neurocysticercosis.
If one eats tapeworm-infected pork, the tapeworm could lay eggs in the person’s gut. The eggs would then be excreted through the feces, and if ingested through the fecal-oral route, they could cause neurocysticercosis.
Treatment of Neurocysticercosis
In the radio interview, Mr. Kennedy did not disclose whether the brain cyst had been removed. Dr. Greenlee said it would be reasonable not to remove it if it was not causing problems.The tapeworm egg can only grow into a tapeworm in the intestines. When an egg enters the brain, it becomes a cyst without maturing into a tapeworm and eventually dies.
“If you control the inflammation and kill the organisms, they can simply stay there, and nothing bad happens. If you do surgery to take it out, just the process of doing surgery can cause damage,” Dr. Greenlee said.
Many people with neurocysticercosis are asymptomatic.
Active infections—when cysts are live and causing problems—are treated using parasite drugs albendazole and praziquantel. The cysts are highly responsive to these drugs. But if a person has too many cysts, drug administration can cause massive die-off, leading to brain swelling and inflammation.
Corticosteroids may then be given to reduce inflammation.
Symptoms Often Occur When Cysts Die
The most common symptoms of neurocysticercosis are seizures.Symptoms like mental fog and memory loss can occur if there are many cysts, Dr. Greenlee said.
Cysts primarily cause problems once they start dying. As they decompose, they release chemicals, which can cause inflammation and swelling in the brain. After they die, however, they are relatively harmless, Dr. Greenlee said.
People may live with it their whole life without ever knowing that they have neurocysticercosis, Dr. Greenlee said.
In the radio interview, Mr. Kennedy mentioned that coinciding with his brain scan, he was also diagnosed with mercury poisoning, which can also cause memory loss and cognitive decline. He said that once he underwent chelation therapy to remove the mercury, these symptoms resolved.
Dr. Greenlee said that it is possible the brain cyst did not cause Mr. Kennedy’s symptoms. Mr. Kennedy reported having only one small area that appeared darkened in the brain scan, suggesting there were few to only one cyst in his brain.
