Research Topic · Peer-Reviewed

Brain Parasites

Brain parasites are parasitic organisms capable of invading the central nervous system, where they establish infection in brain tissue, the meninges, or the cerebrospinal fluid and produce neurological disease. They include helminths such as the pork tapeworm Taenia solium, whose larval cysts cause neurocysticercosi…

Curated from this journal's research 📚 9 peer-reviewed articles cited Cited 26× across the literature 🔖 ISSN 2690-6759 🗓 Reviewed July 2026

Overview

Brain parasites are parasitic organisms capable of invading the central nervous system, where they establish infection in brain tissue, the meninges, or the cerebrospinal fluid and produce neurological disease. They include helminths such as the pork tapeworm Taenia solium, whose larval cysts cause neurocysticercosis, and protozoa including Toxoplasma gondii, Naegleria fowleri, Acanthamoeba species, and the Trypanosoma parasites responsible for human African trypanosomiasis. These agents reach the brain by haematogenous spread across the blood-brain barrier, by direct extension, or, in the case of free-living amoebae, through the nasal mucosa and olfactory route. Once established, they provoke inflammation, mass lesions, vascular damage, and disruption of neural function. Clinical consequences depend on the parasite and the site of involvement but commonly include headache, seizures, focal neurological deficits, altered consciousness, and cognitive impairment; several of these infections are life-threatening, particularly in immunocompromised hosts and young children. Diagnosis relies on neuroimaging, serology, and examination of cerebrospinal fluid, while management combines antiparasitic chemotherapy with control of inflammation and raised intracranial pressure. As a field, the study of brain parasites connects parasitology, neurology, and infectious-disease epidemiology, addressing transmission, host immune response, and the neuropathology of central nervous system invasion.

Research published in this journal

9 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.

How this research is being cited

The 9 articles above have been cited 26 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.

A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Brain Parasites, linking to each citing work.

Editorial oversight

Curated from peer-reviewed research published in Parasite Research (ISSN 2690-6759).

Journal editorial board
DABBU JAIJYAN · United States Aditya Gupta · United States Naglaa Shalaby · Saudi Arabia

This page summarises published research for orientation; it is not medical or professional advice.