Infection With Ascaris Eggs Relieves Symptoms Of Ulcerative Colitis

Infection With Ascaris Eggs Relieves Symptoms Of Ulcerative Colitis.
The suit of a mortals who swallowed parasite eggs to treat his ulcerative colitis - and in truth got better - sheds light on how "worm therapy" might help heal the gut, a original study suggests. "Our findings in this case report suggest that infection with the eggs of the T trichiura roundworm can alleviate the symptoms of ulcerative colitis," said ruminate on leader P'ng Loke, an helper professor in the department of medical parasitology at NYU Langone Medical Center. A lenient parasite, Trichuris trichiura infects the large intestine.

The findings could also lead to inexperienced ways to treat the debilitating disease, a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) currently treated with drugs that don't always opus and can cause serious side effects, said Loke. The investigate findings are published in the Dec 1, 2010 issue of Science Translational Medicine.

Loke and his duo followed a 35-year-old man with severe colitis who tried worm (or "helminthic") treatment to avoid surgical removal of his entire colon. He researched the therapy, flew to a medicate in Thailand who had agreed to give him the eggs, and swallowed 1500 of them.

The man contacted Loke after his self-treatment and "was essentially symptom-free". Intrigued, he and his colleagues solid to follow the man's condition.

The study analyzed slides and samples of the man's blood and colon fabric from 2003, before he swallowed the eggs, to 2009, a few years after ingestion. During this period, he was substantially symptom-free for almost three years. When his colitis flared in 2008, he swallowed another 2000 eggs and got better again, said Loke.

Tissue captivated during full colitis showed a large number of CD4+ T-cells, which are immune cells that produce the inflammatory protein interleukin-17, the group found. However, tissue taken after worm therapy, when his colitis was in remission, contained lots of T-cells that insist upon interleukin-22 (IL-22), a protein that promotes wound healing.

Tropical Worm Caused The Death Of An American

Tropical Worm Caused The Death Of An American.
A Vietnamese arrival in California died of a weighty infection with parasitic worms that spread throughout his body, including his lungs. They had remained unmoving until his immune system was suppressed by steroid drugs in use to treat an inflammatory disorder, according to the report. The 65-year-old man was apparently infected by the worms in Vietnam, one of many countries in the clique where they're known to infect humans. About 80 percent to 90 percent of grass roots die if they are infected by the worm species and then suffer from alleged "hyperinfection" as the worms travel through their bodies, said report co-author Dr Niaz Banaei, an auxiliary professor of infectious diseases at Stanford University School of Medicine.

The man's cover emphasizes the importance of testing patients who might be infected with the parasite before giving them drugs to dampen the immune system, said Dr Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, who's routine with the set forth findings. "You have to think twice before starting big doses of steroids. The stew is that most physicians are not taught about this disease.

It often does not get recognized until it's too late". Parasitic worms of the Strongyloides stercoralis species are most commonly found in tropical and subtropical areas of the world, although they've also appeared in the Appalachian division of the United States. Typically, they infect males and females in country areas such as Brazil, northern Argentina and Southeast Asia and may currently infect as many 100 million multitude worldwide.