Independent candidate for president, Robert Kennedy Jr, says a parasitic worm ate a part of his brain and then died resulted in memory problems.
RFK Jr, a prominent anti-vaccine activist, made the revelation in 2012 during a deposition, which he gave as part of divorce proceedings, according to the New York Times.
RFK Jr. said be began experiencing memory loss and ‘mental fogginess’ in 2010 shortly after his uncle, former Massachusetts senator Edward Kennedy, died from brain cancer.
Neurologists initially thought the dark spot on his brain scan was a tumor, but while preparing for surgery RFK Jr said he received a call from a doctor at New York-Presbyterian Hospital who told him the dark spot on his scan “was caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died”.
RFK Jr told The Times he did not know where he might have contracted the parasite though he suspected it might have been during a trip through South Asia, but he has since recovered and has no lingering effects from the parasite.
In the 2012 deposition, RFK Jr also revealed that he was diagnosed with mercury poisoning which caused neurological symptoms.
“I have cognitive problems, clearly,” he said in 2012. “I have short-term memory loss, and I have longer-term memory loss that affects me.”
The Times noted that the mercury poisoning was likely caused by eating too much fish containing the metal.
“I loved tuna fish sandwiches. I ate them all the time,” RFK Jr said.
Asked whether RFK Jr’s health issues raises questions about his fitness for office, the campaign’s spokesperson responded, “That is a hilarious suggestion, given the competition.”
