Originally Posted by goldengrain  The symptoms of worms in the brain are similar to a stroke, affecting the functioning of the part of the brain in which the worms have taken residence.
The research that I did a pretty long time ago cited cases with more than one worm in the brain. Not all people who ingest them end up with them in the brain. It is not totally understood how they land in the brain, due to the blood brain barrier being so hard to pass through and the larger the substance is, the less likely that this will happen. The body gets bacteria which do not end up in the brain, so something as large as a worm egg?
Anyway, the thought is that the ear is the access mode. The worm lays the eggs in the ear and the tiny eggs hatch and the creatures enter the brain. People might think of using a vibrator to keep them away from the ears if they suspect this might be the case until and if they can find a doctor to treat them.
The articles said they were considered inoperable (most people have more than one and those will lay eggs in the brain - eggs can lie dormant for years) because doctors end up chopping through the brain to get all of them.
The treatment that has cured only a third of the cases is albendazole, but fenbendazole also passes through the blood brain barrier and is a newer upgrade of albendazole.
Fenbendazole, daily, taken at one-fifth the dog dose. If anyone takes worm med, it would be a good idea to take a liver protectant, like milk thistle. Fenbendazole kills the eggs of many worms, and though I trust my memory which may be faulty, it peaks in the body in about 4 hours and leaves the body soon afterwards, so it can be taken daily. It also, over time, will incapacitate other worms. Taking it regularly will often leave a person with only the adult worms active and no hatching eggs or cysts. The adults will either die off on their own or be weakened, over time, by the drug.
Prazaquantal is typically used for tape worms, but I don't think it crosses the blood brain barrier to attack them in the brain.
If one has a worm that dies near the surface of the skin it can be biopsied, but usually nothing is found. THe worm dies in the duct leading from the blemish, so the blemish is just a reaction to the rotting substance and normal biopsies only get this.
Doctors and techs not experienced with constant work on worms will usually not detect them. The eggs can be smaller than a grain of sand. Others can be grouped in cysts.
People have taken fenbendazole for years at one fifth the dog dose(a 200 pound person would take the dose for a 40 pound dog, OR the equivilant, which is the horse dose for your body weight.
Fenbendazole, I have read, has been used on people in other countries. It is only sold for animals here and not available through a doctor. It is thought to be superior to albendazole, which is what doctors can prescribe here.
The albendazole that I have seen as treating these brain worms was prescribed for three months, taking a week off in between each month for liver recuperation.
Fenbendazole, taken daily, in the people I know, has not affected liver tests, with or without liver protecting herbs, like milk thistle. |