Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Article after article extolling the virtues of helminths’ ability to prevent allergies and autoimmune diseases always end in quotes like this:
“The hope is that the work could aid the development of new treatments which work in the same way as gut parasites, by dampening down or rebalancing the immune system so that the body does [...]
Monday, September 28, 2009
A new article from BBC News about the link beteen (lack of) parasites and allergy to dust mites. This is a very large study;1500+ schoolchildren in Vietnam. They gave 1/2 deworming tablets, and studied them for some period of time. Those without worms had a significantly increased allergy to dust mites. [...]
Monday, September 14, 2009
Very entertaining radio show on parasites:
http://blogs.wnyc.org/radiolab/2009/09/07/parasites/
And no, this isn’t an alien…
First, they start with Carl Zimmer, a parasitologist who talks about amazing interactions between parasites and hosts. Then they discuss the hookworm eradication project, where it was found that the South was suffering from anemia, not laziness, and outhouses changed the course of history. Then, [...]
Monday, September 7, 2009
Excellent article on the human immune system, and how a huge population genetics study proves parasites have evolved with us to shape it. A quote:
“Sironi and Fumagalli’s data suggest that our immune systems have co-evolved with parasitic worms—living alongside helminthes for millions of years has shaped the way our immune systems react to pathogens, through [...]
Two pieces on hookworm therapy aired on CBS this week. The first piece is on the hygiene hypothesis and focuses on allergies and asthma. Click on the little video to the right to see the piece:
http://cbs5.com/health/hookworm.treatment.therapy.2.1015341.html
You can also view the video in their video library:
http://cbs5.com/video/?cid=119 Click on May 20th’s “Some Turn to Hookworms [...]