7/23/2019 Scientists Study the Benefits of Worms - Newsela

1/3

Hay fever bothering you? Try

worms! Scientists say gross idea

may workBy Philadelphia Inquirer, adapted by Newsela staff

09.08.15

Grade Level8Word Count898

Of all the things young children put in their mouths, dirt may be what parents are most worried about.

Although there are reasons not to eat soil, getting intestinal worms may not be one of them.

You've Got To Be Kidding!

Researchers have long been investigating the link between being too clean and the loss of immunity

to disease. There's some evidence that a little dirt creates an immune response in the body that helps

fight off disease and allergies. Giving poop from healthy people has been shown to help fight

antibiotic-resistant infections in patients for whom nothing else worked.

Now, some are looking into the potential health benefits of ingesting worms, which are parasites that

live in a person's intestines.

7/23/2019 Scientists Study the Benefits of Worms - Newsela

2/3

In the Western world, it has been decades since worms were a familiar part of the human biome, the

term for all organisms - or tiny life forms - that thrive in people.

After Worms, Pollen's Not So Bad

But as worms have disappeared, rates of autoimmune and allergic diseases have skyrocketed. It

does not necessarily mean that their disappearance has caused more disease, but the subject is

getting more attention.

William Parker, associate professor of surgery at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham,

North Carolina, said the worm-allergy connection was first scientifically investigated about 40 years

ago. British scientist John Turton, who had a hunch that hookworm might stop his allergic reaction to

pollen, gave himself a dose of hookworms and his hay fever went away.

Decades ago, antibody cells in the blood attacked the intestinal worms, called helminths, but in the

1960s, the Western world killed off this worm population. Since then, those antibodies have sought a

new target. For many, that has meant an overreaction to pollen and even their own bodies, Parker

said.

As far as the big picture of human health goes, its pretty much already accepted that when you put

helminths back into the ecosystem of the human body," you can stop disease, he said.

The Government Is Not Convinced

Helminthic therapy is done with worms at the tiny, larval stage after they first enter the body. Human

antibodies kill off the worms before they can grow or before they can multiply.

According to Neilanjan Nandi, assistant professor of gastroenterology at the Drexel University Collegeof Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, patients will ask if helminths can work for them?

Although the use of helminths in humans is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

(FDA), there are about 7,000 people in the world using helminths for a variety of diseases.

Several studies have shown that helminthic therapy may treat people with digestive and other

diseases.

Parker, who recently published a study on self-treatment with helminths, said those using worms to

cure themselves fall into two groups.

Physician, Heal Thyself

About half are very well educated," he said. "A lot of them are scientists, or are in the medical field;

and the other half either knows one of those people or werent that educated but got very, very sick

and educated themselves.

7/23/2019 Scientists Study the Benefits of Worms - Newsela

3/3

Parker said a helminth supplier told him about 25 percent of its clients were medical professionals

who used the worms themselves. Many wont recommend helminths to their patients because they do

not have FDA approval.

But some doctors already are suggesting helminths for their patients.

Most antibiotics are not FDA approved for children, either, said Nancy OHara, a pediatrician with a

private practice in Connecticut. They have not been tested on children. They have been tested onpeople who are older than 12, but because theyre thought to be safe, we give them to children.

"Absolutely Grossed Out"

Depending on the species, helminths are given through a drink or are placed on a bandage applied to

the skin, which absorbs them.

For Rosemary Kind, a writer from North Yorkshire, England, helminths were a last resort for severe

food allergies.

After conventional treatments failed, she read an article on helminthic therapy.

Thats gross. I really dont want to do that, was her first reaction. Still, she tried it, and some of her

allergies went away, and she continues to use helminthic therapy.

People are absolutely grossed out by the idea of worms. I think its the wrong word to use, said

Donna Beales, a medical librarian in Boston who used helminths to treat angioedema, a rapid

swelling of the throat tissue that left her feeling like she was suffocating.

Who Are You Calling A Parasite?

We use the word worms and we use the word parasite. I think this just calls up a lifetime of negative

thought process, said Beales, who added that the worms worked beautifully for her condition.

It will be some time before reports of helminthic success are backed by enough scientific data to win

FDA approval. The experiments are complicated by issues of where to get the worms, how many

doses are needed, and how long treatment can take before showing results, Parker and Nandi said.

People considering self-treatment with helminths are advised to speak with their doctors. Some will

not be in favor of, but others may think its worth a try.

The risk-benefit ratio is so skewed to the benefit side, OHara said. Helminths are much safer than

any medication Ive ever put any child on, or any adult. I really do think that this is something more

and more physicians need to consider.