Friday, March 07, 2008

Worm eggs for MS?


I think I blogged on it a while ago, but my neurologist is conducting a teeny tiny study of whether ingesting the eggs of itty bitty worms can help MS patients. According to this newspaper article, a similar study in Argentina had encouraging results:
The eggs hatch into larvae, the size of an eyelash, that stick to the inside of the intestine. In killing the larvae, the body unleashes an extra dose of regulatory T cells, which dampen overactive immune cells. Existing multiple sclerosis treatments, all of them injections, also try to block overactive immune cells. But with the worm therapy, "instead of knocking down the bad parts of the immune system, we're pushing up the good parts," Fleming said.
....
A study in Argentina backed up that hunch. It compared a dozen multiple sclerosis patients who were naturally infected with a similar worm with a dozen worm-free patients. Over four years, those with the worms had 90 percent fewer flare-ups and brain lesions.

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