Brain worms: one in five are infested

[Joanne98]

This is a disgusting, but necessary topic for everyone who is currently exposed. Many don't know of the danger.

BRAIN WORMS: 'Toxoplasma gondii'

It's worm-like, really, in only one stage of its life-cycle:

click here

This parasite is a protozoa (one-celled creature) that dwells in the body of mammals and spreads by contact with infectious cat feces or ingestion of undercooked meat. The brain worm protects itself by encysting and is amazingly hardy, able to survive in hostile environments outside of the host body, even in salt water, dirt, or sewage treatment plants, for many months.

Only high prolonged temperatures are capable of killing the "oocysts" that protect the worm.

There is a serum test for toxoplasmosis which indicates it's one of the most common of humans infections throughout the world, mostly in warm climates in North and South America -- and France, where they eat undercooked meat, truffles and other unsavory things.

According to the Government's third National Health and Nutritional Assessment Survey (NHANES III) between 1988 and 1994, Toxoplasma "brain worms" were found in 22.5% of the US population, more than 60 million infestations.

The Toxoplasma gondii is unusual in that it can cause behavioral changes in the host, some of which seem to aid in its reproductive cycle. For example, mice infected with brain worms lose their fear of cat urine, and thus are more readily ingested by cats, leading to infestation of the predating cat, and further spread of the oocysts in that cat's feces over the next few weeks.

There is some evidence that infected humans exhibit behavioral changes, also, losing curiosity and becoming more tranquil in the face of danger, or on the other hand exhibiting various clinical pathologies.

"Brain worms" are the third leading cause of death attributed to food-borne illness in the United States.

According to the CDC, "...More that 60 million men, women, and children in the U.S. carry the Toxoplasma parasite, but very few have symptoms because the immune system usually keeps the parasite from causing illness."

continued>>>
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Brain-worms-one-in-five-a-by-Doug-Korthof-090709-795.html

x(

[OffWithTheirHeads]

1. Well, that explains the 20% that think Republicans can govern

nt

[OhioChick]

2. Priceless....

:rofl:

[hobbit709]

3. Ya beat me to it.

[glowing]

4. Makes sense. But they are all afraid of everything..

[Xipe Totec]

5. And why they're mostly in the Sunbelt n/t

[TankLV]

7. At least the ones primarily from the SOUTHERN states!!!

Sanford, Ensign, the list is endless...!!!

[Uben]

9. Obviously wrong

Those whose heads are not to hard for the parasite to penetrate probably lack the organ we call a brain!

[Nay]

20. LOLOL!!

[hootinholler]

25. And their opinion of France:

France, where they eat undercooked meat, truffles and other unsavory things.

:rofl:

-Hoot

[TankLV]

6. wasn't there an "outer limits" episode or some other short story on this?

I seem to remember reading about it or seeing it when I was younger...

and the thing layed eggs and ate the brain out from inside the victum!!!

who knew it was so real...

that could also explain all the crazy people living in Iraq, Iran, and Afghanastan, etc...

- especially the REPUKES who return from visits there...

[Tansy_Gold]

18. Actually I think it was a Twilight Zone episode

I'm in a nostalgia mode this week-end for some reason (see the Week-end Economists' thread in Editorials) so let me do some sleuthing. . . .

[Tansy_Gold]

21. Even though I'm sure no one reads or pays any attention. . . . .

I do these things because my own curiosity drives me crazy if I don't satisfy it.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0660843/plotsummary

It's an episode of Rod Serling's later series, "Night Gallery." Starred Laurence Harvey.

[dbonds]

24. Wasn't that a Night Gallery episode.

The episode called The Caterpillar, and the worm called an ear wig

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0660843/


On Edit: I see you found that already. Never post when your ear wig is acting up.

[Tansy_Gold]

26. LOL -- GMTA

Yeah, I posted the Twilight Zone suspicion before I checked it out. But hey, just goin' from memory I was kinda close!


Tansy Gold, who is old and remembers a lot of trivia

[Joe Bacon]

31. Here's the episode link on Hulu!

The Caterpillar, oh that scared me as a kid!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/58794/night-gallery-the-caterpillarlittle-girl-lost

[RandomThoughts]

8. Sounds like a metaphor story.

First off the blood brain barrier would make for immune system response in brain to be fairly ineffective. Second their symptoms of women becoming sex kittens, and men stupid, is not how a medical report would talk on the topic. However their are spiritual things that cause both those things.

It is trying to bring some supernatural thing into a normal world.

Some other examples of this same topic.
Movie Phenomenon person had worm like things in brain.
Stargate has Go'ulds that infect people.
X Files had black oil, that was like worms.

The simplest way to explain it as untrue, is connectivity between so called infected people, a biological entity could not create that, proving the story a false doctrine.

Some variations of this false doctrine also speak of nanobots, answering the communication thought. However the level of interface required to achieve the targeted results as explained in that article would require a cell by cell change, including being able to know what each brain cell does. In biological terms, the brain develops different for everyone, and no system could determine which exact cluster of cells handles minute thoughts or decisions. Again proving it a false doctrine.

This is one of the silly false doctrines and is easily disproved. Seems to want to bring people away from thoughts of supernatural and make those that see odd things to get on some medication.

I think it is a spiritual condition if people have issues of confusion.
I like how this guy put it.

http://theshermanfoundation.blogspot.com/2009/06/toxoplasma-parasite-may-cause-humans-to.html
What I find somewhat strange are all of the incomprehensible diagrams that you find when you do an image search for Toxoplasma. The only thing that seems absolutely clear in each drawing is that it's the cats fault. Could the parasite be infecting the brains of people who study it and make them do these crazy drawings?

The guy has some funny drawings with his comments. even one that explains his thoughts on where it comes from.


However their comments are close to how third stage syphilis is discussed, since it also creates nodules in muscle tissue, but many things do that. Also it effects brains of people. Meth also destroys peoples brains.

[billyoc]

10. Wow, the EXACT number of self-identifying Republicans. I'm sure it's just a coincidence, though.

[kestrel91316]

11. Toxoplasma is in no way, shape, or form a "worm". It is a PROTOZOAN.

Worms are complex multicellular creatures. Protozoans are simple single-celled organisms.

Toxo isn't any more of a "worm" than "ringworm" (a skin fungus) is. Sigh.

[madrchsod]

12. there ya go again---blinding people with science!

[truedelphi]

22. That is very good information. Thank you. n/t

[lindisfarne]

13. The OP isn't fully accurate. If infected, you get over the infection & then generally have

immunity. You don't have an active infection for the rest of your life. The protozoa does remain and can become active if the immune system is severely compromised. If you've had chicken pox, that virus is also living in you - shingles come about when the immune system becomes suppressed, allowing the chicken pox virus to become active.

Of all the things to worry about in life, I'd put this protozoa very low on the scale, except I would take some precautions during pregnancy. Esp. if you're pregnant, be careful to wash hands after gardening or preparing red meat. There is an increased risk of schizophrenia in children born to a mother who is infected during pregnancy - all the factors are not well understood. (Most people know of the cat litter risk, but actually, it is extremely easy to reduce the risk simply by scooping the poop daily and taking a few other precautionary measures, even if the pregnant woman does not have someone who can handle the litter for her).
Having an active infection at some point in your life before becoming pregnant actually greatly reduces the risk of having one during pregnancy.

http://www.cdc.gov/toxoplasmosis/epi.html
Toxoplasmosis is caused by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. In the United States it is estimated that 22.5% of the population 12 years and older have been infected with Toxoplasma. In various places throughout the world, it has been shown that up to 95% of some populations have been infected with Toxoplasma. Infection is often highest in areas of the world that have hot, humid climates and lower altitudes.

The headline - from the original article - is overly dramatic.

[handmade34]

27. thanks for the clarification

[sce56]

14. I don't know about the statistics on how many people have these but I did see a video in our weekly

safety meeting several months ago that showed a women in Phoenix Az. having one removed they thought it was a tumor at first! watch here Watch where you get your food from especially in Mexico. Apparently what the Dr says boils down to if the person handling your food is infected they can infect you also!

From Caltech http://eands.caltech.edu/articles/LXVI4/brainworms.html

By Andrea Manzo

Parasites in the Brain?

At a recent evening lecture at the California Institute of Technology, a neurologist was explaining the ins and outs of new brain-imaging technology to an audience composed of Caltech professors, students, and members of the general public. The audience was rather quiet, lulled by the technical tone of the lecture. But when the neurologist mentioned in passing that the disease afflicting one of his patients was caused by a brain parasite, the whole room sat up and made a collective noise of disgust and alarm. Brain parasites!

But, in fact, parasites infect us all the time. They live in our bodies, even in our cells, and most of the time we do not even know that they are there. The brain can provide a pleasant, nurturing environment for parasites, because it has structures that prevent many of the immune system’s cells from entering, at least in the early stages of infection. Add to that plenty of oxygen and nutrients, and the brain seems like a rather nice place to live.
<SNIP>
In fact, millions of people worldwide are infected by these efficacious brain parasites. If you haven’t heard about them before, it is probably because most infected people live in nonindustrialized countries, where living conditions are not very sanitary. Many of these brain parasites cause debilitating conditions and sometimes even death. So, in addition to being interesting biologically, brain parasites are also important in the context of human disease.

And the other thing for those who like to play in warm lake waters like Lake Mead due to global warming several cases of brain eating amoebas have come to light and this is a killer!

Danger in the Waters

If you’ve never heard of Naegleria fowleri, don’t be surprised. Unlike the pork tapeworm, N. fowleri has only infected about 175 people in the world, causing a disease called primary amoebic meningo-cephalitis. But out of those 175 people, only six have survived, giving a mortality rate of 97 percent. For this reason, it is quite an important parasite to study, as there are no current treatments that have proven effective against it.

Fortunately, natural infection by the parasite is very rare, although N. fowleri is ubiquitous in the wild. It lives mostly in warm freshwater lakes and ponds, but can even thrive in heated swimming pools. Furthermore, N. fowleri is actually a free-living organism, which means that it can survive without a host. This explains why N. fowleri attacks are so rapidly fatal—since hosts are not necessary to its survival, the parasite does not have to take pains to avoid killing them.

Part of the reason that N. fowleri can survive in such numbers and in so many different places is because it is an amoeba. Amoebas are single-celled creatures that resemble sacks of fluid gelatin surrounded by a greasy membrane. Because of their small size and few requisites for survival, these organisms are found everywhere. In addition, the amoebas can form cysts in harsh conditions like extreme cold; in this form, they are protected against the environment.

Top 10 Infectious Diseases From http://science.discovery.com/top-ten/2009/infectious-diseases/infectious-diseases-05.html
No. 05 - Naegleria (brain-eating amoeba)
Don't drink the water. And while you're at it, you might not want to take any chances by putting your head in it, either.

Naegleria fowleri, a not-so-friendly little amoeba, makes its home in warm fresh water in the American Southwest. That's not such a problem, but it occasionally also likes to make its home in people's brains, which is a bit of a problem.
The amoeba usually creeps through your nose while you swim in lakes or hot springs. Once it finds its way up into your brain, it's pretty much over. The seizures start, followed by a coma.

I recommend you read the whole paper at CalTech

[burning rain]

15. Yeah but shapeshifters are immune to that.

That's part of why us lizard people rule.

[balantz]

16. Aaahhhhh!!!

[steven johnson]

17. The pork tapeworm has plagued people for thousands of years

So possibly the Muslims and Jews know something about not eating pork.

"But lodging in the brain stem is bad luck," he said.
Nakaji said other parts of the brain have more "room" or tissue to expand around a growing cyst. However the brain stem, which is crucial to life, is only the width of a finger or two.
"She could have recovered," said Nakaji. "But if the compression lasted for long enough, she could have been left permanently disabled or dead."



It's Not a Tumor, It's a Brain Worm
[br />

[Hugin]

19. Some strange urge is compelling me to Unrec this thread!

I can't explain it... It's like a little tiny voice is telling me to do so!

:panic:

[pipi_k]

23. Leave my brainworm alone!!!!!!

It's been there for years, and it plays all kinds of interesting songs and movies for my entertainment.


Over and over and over and over and over and over and over.....


:freak:

[handmade34]

28. good information - dramatized a bit but...

...always love when someone mentions or quotes information from NHANES since that is my work and the studies keep me employed :-)
additional information:
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/542540/NHANES-Public-Release-Dataset-Laboratory-Toxoplasma-IgG-Toxoplasma---Surplus-Sera-Antibody-to-Cytomegalovirus-IgC-(SSCMV_B-2001-2002)

Thanks for the post.

[Aragorn]

29. ahem

A few facts from the same (CDC) site to keep in mind:

1) Healthy people (nonpregnant)
Most healthy people recover from toxoplasmosis without treatment. Persons who are ill can be treated with a combination of drugs such as pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine, plus folinic acid.

2) It took some drilling and there might be other data there somewhere, but the CD info on NHANES III did NOT include ANY tests for T gondii. It appears that the "estimate" is based on whether or not you have a cat, have ever touched a cat, or know anyone who has ever touched a cat, and whether you also eat food.

I can say this is something docs look for in seizure patients, and I treat and have treated many seizure patients - and I have only found one case of brain cyst in 25 years (it was a nifty find for me - not for the patient) and it was cysticercosis, not T gondii. It is often stated in US medical texts that cysticercosis is a common cause of seizures in other countires and more common in the US south than other US areas.

[Joe Bacon]

30. OUCH!

Scary :scared: