Tapeworms are parasites that live in the bodies of their hosts including humans. One man in the United Kingdom found that his headaches were being caused by a kind of tapeworm that had been living in his brain for about four years.

Tapeworms are parasites that live in the bodies of their hosts including humans.

Scientists are studying the genome of one such rare tapeworm as discussed in a recently published study.

Several years back, one man in the United Kingdom found that his headaches were being caused by this tapeworm that had been living in his brain for about four years.

Initially, not knowing his condition was caused by a worm, doctors were baffled as MRIs showed lesions in different positions over the years.

When doctors finally removed it, the worm was less than half an inch long, and had traveled about two inches from the right side of his brain to the left side.

The patient eventually fully recovered.

Around the world, about 300 cases of this parasite have been diagnosed since the year 1953.

It is believed to be caused by the consumption of small crustaceans from lakes that are infected, or by eating raw reptile or amphibian meat.