Brain Parasites Can Stealthily Cause Great Damage

 

Brain Parasites Can Stealthily Cause Great Damage Worms

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s disclosure that a doctor apparently found a dead worm in his brain has prompted questions about what brain parasites are, the damage they can cause, and how, exactly, they get there.

Brain parasites encompass far more than worms. There are “legions” of organisms that can affect the brain, said Scott Gardner, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who specializes in parasites, including single-celled organisms such as Toxoplasma gondii and some amoebas.

The damage varies depending on the type of parasite and where it ends up in the brain. “Some of them actively invade the tissues and destroy tissues,” said Dr. Daniel Pastula, chief of neuro-infectious diseases and global neurology at University of Colorado Medicine. Others cause an inflammatory reaction.

TAPEWORMS Humans are typically exposed to tapeworms through raw or undercooked food or through food contaminated with feces.

Doctors consulted by The New York Times speculated that Mr. Kennedy described symptoms of an infection with larvae from the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium, one of multiple types of tapeworm that can infect the brain. When a person accidentally swallows pork tapeworm eggs, the eggs hatch in the intestines, and the larvae can travel to other organs, including the brain. There, they form cysts, causing a condition known as neurocysticercosis.

It can take months, or years, for people to show signs of infection. Symptoms vary based on how many cysts develop and where they are (in the eyes, muscles, and spinal cord). Generally, people with neurocysticercosis experience headaches and seizures, and they sometimes feel confused, struggle to pay attention, and have issues with balance. The condition can be fatal.

AMOEBAS Another type of parasite that can affect the brain is a brain-eating amoeba. Infections of this kind are extremely rare but can lead to a potentially fatal swelling of the brain or spinal cord, said Tajie H. Harris, an associate professor of neuroscience at the University of Virginia. The organisms enter through the nose when people swim in lakes and rivers, and then travel to the brain. People have also been infected when using neti pots or other sinus rinses with untreated or non-sterile water.

TOXOPLASMA GONDII One of the most common parasitic brain infections is toxoplasmosis. Over 40 million people in the United States may be infected with the parasite that causes that infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People can be infected by eating undercooked meat or contaminated shellfish, by drinking contaminated water, or by accidentally swallowing the parasite when they encounter it in cat feces in litter boxes.

The parasite that causes toxoplasmosis can linger in humans for years potentially, for one’s entire life – but most people will not develop symptoms. “For the most part, our immune system does an amazing job at just handling and dealing with this parasite, allowing us to live our lives without ever knowing,” Dr. Harris said.

But it can make some people feel as if they have the flu. People with compromised immune systems are at risk of serious illness and brain damage if infected, and developing fetuses can be severely affected if pregnant women are exposed. (That’s why doctors sometimes advise pregnant women to avoid coming into contact with cat litter.)

How would people determine if they had a parasite?

“You wouldn’t know yourself, unless someone is looking,” Dr. Gardner said. Sometimes a patient’s blood can be tested for antibodies that are produced in response to a parasite. In other cases, doctors call for an M.R.I. or a C.T. scan.

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It’s Best to Perform One Task at a Time

Multitasking is a bad habit. Here are some tactics to help you regain your focus.

Multitasking is just the way many of us live. How often do you text while stuck in traffic, lose track of a podcast while doing chores, or flutter between the news and your inbox?

“We get stuck in this multitasking trap even without realizing that we’re doing it,” said Nicole Byers, a neuropsychologist in Calgary, Alberta, who specializes in ‘treating people with burnout.

There are a few reasons for our collective habit, she added. Most of us avoid boredom if we can, Dr. Byers explained, and multi-tasking is a reliable way to ward it off.

There’s also a lot of pressure to do it. “How many times have we seen a job posting that says, ‘Must be an excellent multi-tasker’?” she asked. “Our modern world —where so many of us spend most of the day on screens — really forces our brain to multitask.”

The fact remains that we’re not great at doing it, and it’s not great for us. But there are ways we can be smarter in our approach.

First, “multitask” itself is typically a misnomer. According to experts, it’s not possible to do two things at once — unless we can do one without much thinking (like taking a walk while catching up with a friend).

“Usually, when people think they’re multitasking, they’re actually switching their attention back and forth between two separate tasks,” said Gloria Mark, a professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine, and author of “Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity”

Let’s consider what happens when you engage in a single task like cooking dinner. From the moment you decide what to make, different regions of your brain, collectively referred to as the cognitive control network, collaborate to make it happen, said Anthony Wagner, a professor of psychology at Stanford and the deputy director of the university’s Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute.

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Your Weight and Your Brain

Your Weight and Your Brain When it comes to brain health, keeping your weight stable may be the most important task of all.

Obesity, particularly when there’s lots of visceral fat present, is a risk factor for faster brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease, says Howard Fillit, M.D., co-founder and chief science officer at the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation. Belly fat has been shown to:

• Reduce blood flow to your brain, according to a 2020 study involving brain scans of more than 17,000 people. Researchers found that as weight went up, blood flow in the brain went down, including to areas vulnerable to developing Alzheimer’s.
• Shrink your brain. Using MR1s, researchers from UCLA and the University of Pittsburgh who were obese had 8 percent less brain volume and brains that appeared 16 years older.
• Reduce your cognitive abilities. An elevated body mass index (BMI) is directly associated with decreased attention, processing speed, and fine motor speed, according to a 2013 study. And in a 2016 study of 171 people with severe obesity, more than half met the criteria for mild cognitive impairment (MCI), even though their median age was only 43. At a follow-up 12 months later, the prevalence of MCI was reduced by nearly 49 percent in those who had undergone weight-loss surgery in the previous year.

Protecting your brain means getting your weight under control. The MIND Diet, a mash-up of the heart-healthy Mediterranean and DASH diets, features lots of fruits and vegetables, plus lean protein and good fats like olive oil.

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