Good worms
Clinical trials by the Malaghan Institute have shown that hookworms may be helpful for managing severe inflammatory and allergic diseases in humans.
Would you be prepared to have worms if they helped you feel better?
Hookworms could be an exciting new accessory for humans with colitis. Clinical trials by the Malaghan Institute have shown that hookworms may be helpful for managing severe inflammatory and allergic diseases in humans. In the year-long study, half the patients in remission with ulcerative colitis were infected with a controlled dose of hookworm larvae. The other half were given a placebo.
Results showed hookworms were safe, well tolerated and long lasting for participants with ulcerative colitis. The effect may not be strong enough to push someone from an active disease state into remission, but it could keep someone in remission by preventing disease flare-ups and the need to take steroids. The trial was funded by Health Research Council of New Zealand.
Hookworms can remain in the body for years following a single dose. There is a thriving ‘underground’ market of people self-medicating with hookworms.
