ISSN 1007-9327 CN 14-1219/R World J Gastroenterol 2010 February 14; 16(6): 703-712
Schistosoma mansoni proteins attenuate gastrointestinal motility disturbances during experimental colitis in mice
http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/16/703.asp
Injecting worm proteins [...]
Disappointing. 10 hookworms didn’t really work statistically for asthma or allergies, but there were immune changes. I wonder what “mimic most closely natural infection” means (last line of abstract for asthma study)? Less at once, more often? Or more than 10? I am feeing extraordinarily lucky that 10 hookworms caused such a pronounced change [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
I found a few case studies highlighting the potential dangers of helminthic therapy. These are probably rare, hence case studies, but I would like to be advised of the negative potential of any therapy I was considering before trying it. I was also told once by a helminth immunologist that in the mouse model, those [...]