New treatment investigated for brain tapeworm infection. Treating neurocysticercosis (NCC), an infection of the brain with tapeworm larvae, often leads to inflammation and seizures when the parasites in the brain die. Now, researchers have reported that pretreatment with the anti-tumor necrosis factor drug etanercept (ETN) is a viable strategy to manage this post-treatment inflammation. Source 6r.
Reducing tapeworm infection could improve academic performance, reduce poverty. Tapeworm infection from eating contaminated pork can damage the brain, causing learning impairments and possibly enforcing cycles of poverty. A new study is the first to look at infection rates within schools and propose solutions targeting children. Source 2c.