Having worms can help eat away at allergic diseases

Published on Saturday 19 August 2006 00:53

A DOSE of worms could provide a cure for allergic diseases such as asthma, diabetes and inflammatory bowel disorders, according to the latest research.

Allergies are relatively unheard of in developing nations, including countries in Africa, in which parasitic infections are part of normal life.

But in the western world "super-clean living" has reduced our exposure to disease-causing organisms and has been blamed for the increase in allergic disorders.

The hygiene hypothesis explains how, without foreign invaders to attack, the immune system overreacts to harmless substances, such as pollen, causing a runny nose, itchy eyes, or a range of other symptoms. In severe cases, this hypersensitivity can lead to auto-immune diseases in which the immune system attacks the body.

The observation that people with worm infections have fewer allergies led scientists to investigate. To protect themselves from attack by their human hosts, worms suppress part of the immune system that is overly sensitive in those suffering from an allergy.

At the International Conference of Parasitology in Glasgow earlier this month, experts revealed research which suggests worms could hold the key to curing some serious diseases.

"A chemical identified in worms can prevent the onset of the conditions that can lead to type 1 diabetes," said Professor Anne Cooke, of Cambridge University. "If this is injected into children it will calm their allergic reactions and prevent the triggering of type 1 diabetes."

Her research could lead to a vaccine that makes type 1 diabetes a disease of the past.

Scientists at Nottingham University are to carry out a clinical trial giving hookworms to patients with Crohn's inflammatory bowel disease.

Dr Paul Fortun, one of the study leaders, said: "In order for the parasite to survive, it induces a 'state of tolerance' in the host [which counteracts the immune system]. There is a lot of evidence that inducing this state of tolerance would reverse the problem that causes Crohn's disease."

Prof Bob Summers, of Iowa University, found that injecting pig whipworm eggs into patients produced a 70 per cent success rate in treating Crohn's disease and 50 per cent success in ulcerative colitis.

He said: "Worm therapy has profound ramifications for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, asthma, diabetes and all immuno-inflammatory diseases."

Present treatments for allergic diseases only relieve symptoms, but the worm studies could lead to eventual cures.

In Scotland, one in five children has asthma, the number of diabetes sufferers has trebled in 30 years and the country has the highest percentage of MS sufferers in the western world.