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People with MS are taking part in a new research trial by being infected with hookworms.

Researchers at Nottingham's Queen Medical Centre are looking at how the worms can affect the immune system of people living with the illness........ Read More - http://www.ms-uk.org/index.cfm/endoparasites

squiffy2 wrote:People with MS are taking part in a new research trial by being infected with hookworms.

Researchers at Nottingham's Queen Medical Centre are looking at how the worms can affect the immune system of people living with the illness........ Read More - http://www.ms-uk.org/index.cfm/endoparasites

Insisting on defining MS as an auto-immune disease (never been proven) they are going to new lengths at trying to alter a patient's immune system by having the patient ingest hookworms. The MS mouse hasn't done much for creating new medications over the years so might as well ask the hookworms to join the fray!!

You would think that proving MS is indeed an auto-immune disease would be a priority before trying to alter this system in MS patients, especially after research in the past 5 years or so shows the immune system isn't necessarily involved with the real cause of the disease.

Harry

HarryZ wrote:

squiffy2 wrote:People with MS are taking part in a new research trial by being infected with hookworms.

Researchers at Nottingham's Queen Medical Centre are looking at how the worms can affect the immune system of people living with the illness........ Read More - http://www.ms-uk.org/index.cfm/endoparasites

Insisting on defining MS as an auto-immune disease (never been proven) they are going to new lengths at trying to alter a patient's immune system by having the patient ingest hookworms. The MS mouse hasn't done much for creating new medications over the years so might as well ask the hookworms to join the fray!!

You would think that proving MS is indeed an auto-immune disease would be a priority before trying to alter this system in MS patients, especially after research in the past 5 years or so shows the immune system isn't necessarily involved with the real cause of the disease.

Harry

On the plus side its cheap and relatively harmless unlike the various DMD's.

On the plus side its cheap and relatively harmless unlike the various DMD's.

You have a point there! Unless they patent the hookworms, stating that those chosen can only be used on MS patients

Harry

It is not harmless.

I've often wondered, since these are live parasites with a will of their own, what keeps them from infesting organs where you'd rather not have them, e.g., lungs, heart, kidneys, liver, brain, etc?

NHE wrote:I've often wondered, since these are live parasites with a will of their own, what keeps them from infesting organs where you'd rather not have them, e.g., lungs, heart, kidneys, liver, brain, etc?

Because they nourish them only with harmfull things we have in the gut ? (yeast ?)

NHE wrote:I've often wondered, since these are live parasites with a will of their own, what keeps them from infesting organs where you'd rather not have them, e.g., lungs, heart, kidneys, liver, brain, etc?

The hookworm travels by design to the gut where it remains for the rest of its life. If the occasional larvae gets trapped somewhere else they are so small the immune system will ultimately deal with them.

Nottingham University have already shown clinically that low dose infections are largely asymptomatic and cause no significant harm. Parasitology books from the 1960's routinely refer the hook worm as asymptomatic at low levels.