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 in me; first for the worst, then for the better. I started with 10 hookworms De. 2007, got edema, arthritis, a fever, diarrhea. By month 4 I was in remission, but added 2-3 worms a week for a total of 37. Then I lost them somehow by September 2008 and lost efficacy.
I got 10 new hookworms in February 2009, then 10 more in late September 2009. My last egg count was 1400 epg. My CRP (measure of inflammation) has been normal since March 2009. So 20 worms are working for me. Weight’s been normal since March, I can eat most foods but still get diarrhea from too much fiber. Now my hormones are causing anxiety/depression, but I’m assuming that’s un-worm related. I’m almost 38 years old.
I wish we knew the ideal dosing number and dosing schedule. It seems that those with the best response are getting at least 20-30 hookworms, though I also know of Crohns patients who had to terminate because 20-25 worms were way too much at once. I wish these studies were faster since we’re just dosing in the dark.
The asthma study:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20030661
Experimental hookworm infection: a randomized placebo-controlled trial in asthma.
Feary JR, Venn AJ, Mortimer K, Brown AP, Hooi D, Falcone FH, Pritchard DI, Britton JR.
Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.