Waiting for the Cure » whipworm

The Potential Dangers of Helminth Therapy

admin — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:40:53 +0000

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 mice bred for high risk of colon cancer also infected with whipworms had a much higher rate of colon cancer than those uninfected. He didn’t know if that translated into the human model, but felt that those of us experimenting with worms might want to have more frequent colonoscopies, just in case. Some frightening information:

A case of granuloma of the ascending colon due to penetration of trichuris trichiura : (and this wasn’t a heavy infection)
http://www.springerlink.com/content/f932×6x5n12327h6/

Colonic obstruction and perforation related to heavy Trichuris trichiura infestation : (not sure how many worms she harbored)
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=2768490

Suppurative anal cryptitis associated with/Trichuris trichiura :/
http://www.springerlink.com/content/8433626380461n8q/

Hookworm infestation masquerading as Crohn’s disease: diagnosis by double-balloon enteroscopy. :
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19209160

Granted, as someone writing WITH Crohn’s disease who has had bowel blockages in the past and surgery due to the stricturing that Crohn’s causes, and now is in remission with a small number of hookworms, almost symptom-free, I have to say, it’s worth the risk.

TSO: Why Not Get a Pig?

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:04:55 +0000

For TSO users, because of the horrible expense, I’ve thought of a potentially elegant solution. Why not get and infect a pig? In most city ordinances, pot-belly pigs are allowed, and were quite popular in the 80’s as pets. I’m told they are intelligent, trainable animals that can live with dogs happily. I used to live across the street from one, and it could be quite loud at times, but also was rather cute.

If one were to feed them a vial of trichuris suis, I imagine they would implant in the pig. I don’t know the longevity of the pig whipworm, or the methods one would have to take in order to isolate the ova from the pig’s feces in order to avoid contamination and ingesting any fecal flora that one wouldn’t desire, but with a little research, I imagine it would be possible. The pig whipworm was chosen since pig farmers have been exposed to this organism for a long time and were considered asymptomatic. It could also be protective to people’s children, as contact with farm animals is associated with a decrease in pediatric crohn’s disease.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/120/2/354#F1

I wonder if using cow or horse manure on vegetable crops would be protective?

If anyone experiments with this idea; gets a pig and isolates the pig whipworm, please share with us your methods.

Asphelia Pharmaceuticals: the new TSO

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:21:08 +0000

So it looks like TSO has been bought by Asphelia Pharmaceuticals, who supposedly has rights to all uses of TSO except for IBD in Europe. Here’s a link to their site:

http://www.aspheliapharma.com/

And they have a fabulous video on the use of helminths for inflammatory diseases:

http://www.aspheliapharma.com/media.html

In their pipeline, they claim that they were starting a trial for Crohn’s disease this Fall, but I contacted the CEO and he said due to funding issues, it’s been postponed, and to look for an announcement on clinicaltrials.gov for when the trial begins. So for those with Crohn’s waiting for some free TSO, it may be a while…