The helminth provider Autoimmune Therapies (AIT) was founded by former marketing executive, Jasper Lawrence, former medical student, Garin Aglietti, and clinical scientist, Marc Dellerba. AIT became the first company to sell the human hookworm, Necator americanus (NA).
Full Answer
When was helminthic therapy first used in humans?
The first clinical studies of helminthic therapy in humans started about 10–15 years ago with the use of Trichirus suis. While helminths are often considered a homogenous group, considerable differences exist between species and the species used in clinical research varies between human and animal trials.
Can helminths be treated in humans?
Helminth therapy in humans To date two species of helminths have been tested for human helminth therapy as a clinical treatment, Trichuris suis, the pig whipworm, and the human hookworm Necator americanus.
What is the helminth wiki for?
One of the purposes of this wiki is to provide everything that the helminth self-treater needs in order to use this therapy safely, but it is essential that would-be users familiarise themselves fully with all the site’s contents before commencing their treatment.
What is helminthic therapy for nematodes?
Helminthic therapy. Helminthic therapy consists of the inoculation of the patient with specific parasitic intestinal nematodes (helminths). A number of such organisms are currently being investigated for their use as treatment including: Trichuris suis ova, commonly known as pig whipworm eggs; Necator americanus,...
Who controls helminth?
Approximately 1.5 billion people are infected with soil-transmitted helminths worldwide. Control is based on periodical deworming to eliminate infecting worms, health education to prevent re-infection, and improved sanitation to reduce soil contamination with infective eggs.
How does helminths get treated?
Helminth therapy involves giving a person helminth parasites, such as hookworm, that will live in their body. This type of therapy may help treat certain health conditions, such as Crohn's disease, allergies, and ASD.
What is used to treat helminth infections?
Current treatment. Since its discovery in the 1970s, praziquantel has replaced many other drugs as the sole treatment for a range of helmintic infections. Praziquantel is effective against all three major species of Schistosoma (S. mansoni, S.
Are helminths good for humans?
Mutualistic helminths help regulate immune function, stimulating our body to build regulatory networks of immune cells that decrease general inflammation without hurting our immune system's ability to respond to danger.
WHO report on intestinal parasites?
According to the WHO report, about 24% (1.5 billion) of the world people have been infected with intestinal parasitic infections mainly hookworms, Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura [7]. The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection surpasses 50% in several areas of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) [7].
How do you treat parasites?
Your doctor will prescribe medications that destroy parasites, such as albendazole (Albenza) and mebendazole (Emverm). These medications are generally taken once to treat the infection. Your doctor might also have you take an iron supplement if you have anemia.
Can helminths be treated with antibiotics?
Although antibiotics probably have been used in the treatment of bacterial and protozoan diseases in patients who also harbored helminths, either the activity observed against the latter was not sufficient to attract attention, or the techniques employed did not detect the reduction in the helminth infection.
Which is an example of a helminth?
Which is an example of a helminth? Helminths are parasitic worms or flukes belonging to the animal kingdom. Pinworms, roundworms, and tapeworms are helminths.
What does the word helminth mean?
wormIntroduction. Helminth is a general term meaning worm. The helminths are invertebrates characterized by elongated, flat or round bodies. In medically oriented schemes the flatworms or platyhelminths (platy from the Greek root meaning “flat”) include flukes and tapeworms.
Why do we study helminths in microbiology?
Helminth parasites are included within the study of microbiology because they are often identified by looking for microscopic eggs and larvae.
How is helminth infection diagnosed?
Parasitological diagnosis of worm infections is commonly performed by identifying this stage of the life by microscopic examination of blood, faecal or urine samples. Antibody tests are also becoming increasingly available.
How do helminths suppress immune system?
Helminthic worms are able to avoid the immune system by coating their exteriors with glycan molecules that make them look like host cells or by suppressing the immune system.
When was helminth therapy first used?
The first clinical studies of helminthic therapy in humans started about 10–15 years ago with the use of Trichirus suis. While helminths are often considered a homogenous group, considerable differences exist between species and the species used in clinical research varies between human and animal trials.
What are Helminths?
Helminths are parasitic worms such as hookworms, whipworms, and threadworms that have evolved to live within a host organism on which they rely for nutrients. These worms are members of two phyla: nematodes, which are primarily used in human helminthic therapy, and flat worms ( trematodes ). Helminthic therapy consists of the inoculation ...
How do helminths help with autoimmune disease?
Most autoimmune disorders are believed to involve hyperactive TH1 or TH17 immune responses that are down-regulated by the promotion of a TH2 response by helminths. Helminths secrete immunoregulatory molecules that promote the induction of regulatory T cells while inhibiting the function of antigen presenting cells and other T cells. As such, helminthic therapy attempts to restore homeostasis by shifting a hyperactive TH1 pro-inflammatory response to a TH2 response with reduced inflammation.
How to correct immune dysregulation?
The way to correct the dysregulation is to "reconstitute", or replenish, keystone species in healthy individuals prior to the development of human diseases of modern living. As keystone organisms, helminths are central to correcting immune dysregulation, and their replenishment may prevent disease.
How do old friends modify the hygiene hypothesis?
The old friends hypothesis modifies the hygiene hypothesis by proposing that regulatory T cells can only become fully effective if they are stimulated by exposure to microorganisms and parasites that have low levels of pathogenicity and that have coexisted universally with human beings throughout our evolutionary history. This hypothesis has recently been given more credibility by a study demonstrating the impact of infectious organisms, and helminths in particular, upon genes responsible for the production of various cytokines, some involved in the regulation of inflammation, in particular those associated with the development of Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and celiac disease.
What is the name of the worm that is a giant roundworm?
These include Ascaris lumbricoides, commonly known as human giant roundworm; Strongyloides stercoralis, commonly known as human roundworm; Enterobius vermicularis, commonly known as pinworm or threadworm; and Hymenolepis nana, also known as dwarf tapeworm.
Does helminthic infection reduce autoimmune disease?
Evidence in support of the idea that helminthic infections reduce the severity of autoim mune diseases is primarily derived from animal models. Studies conducted on mice and rat models of colitis, muscular sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and asthma have shown helminth-infected subjects to display protection from the disease.
What is helminth therapy?
Helminthic therapy is the reintroduction to the digestive tract of a controlled number of specially domesticated, safe, mutualistic helminths (intestinal worms) in the form of microscopic eggs or larvae to treat and prevent disease.
Why is helminth replacement important?
The term, “ helminthic therapy ” may suggest that this might be just another therapeutic option that one can try in the hope of fixing some health issue that has not responded adequately to other forms of treatment, but helminth replacement is actually far more than this, because the continuing presence of helminths is fundamental to human health.
What is a helminth with a flat, ribbon-like, segmented body?
Hymenolepis diminuta, a murine (rat) tapeworm.
What is a whipworm?
the porcine (pig) whipworm, Trichuris suis. the ova (eggs) of the porcine (pig) whipworm, Trichuris suis. A helminth that lives in the small intestine. Necator americanus (NA) is the only hookworm species used in helminthic therapy. Its microscopic larvae are applied periodically to the skin.
How long does helminth disease last?
Even helminth hosts who see early benefits can continue to experience periodic exacerbations or flares of their disease for up to 18 months, and a few may need to continue to take medication alongside helminthic therapy in the longterm. I have had success only while taking TSO plus Humira.
Is helminthic therapy a doctor-led treatment?
Fortunately, helminthic therapy does not need to be doctor-led because, in practice, it is little different from taking a probiotic, which most people do without involving a doctor.
Is helminthic therapy a one size fits all solution?
And approximately 25% of those who try helminthic therapy do not respond at all. Helminthic therapy is also not a one-size-fits-all solution, nor a one dose fix. Dosing needs to be tailored to the unique needs of each individual, and continued indefinitely in the vast majority of cases.
What is helminth therapy?
Helminthic Therapy: An Emerging Intervention in the Era of Immune Dysregulation. Helminths are worm-like organisms that naturally live in and feed on about 1.5 billion human hosts around the world today.1 For most of medical history, helminths have been classified as parasites, but some of these organisms, such as Enterobius vermicularis ...
What are helminths? What are their functions?
Helminths are worm-like organisms that naturally live in and feed on about 1.5 billion human hosts around the world today.1 For most of medical history, helminths have been classified as parasites, but some of these organisms, such as Enterobius vermicularis (the common pinworm), may be commensal—benefiting from the human host without causing harm—and some others may actually be mutualistic—benefiting from the human host while conferring benefit upon the host.2 It is these conditionally mutualistic organisms, which confer benefit on some human hosts but not on others, based on ancestry, environment, and epigenetics, that I’ll focus on in this article.
How did the adaptive immune system evolve?
The adaptive immune system evolved in an era of highly prevalent infectious disease. As infectious disease has become less prevalent, immune disorders such as autoimmune, allergic, atopic and inflammatory conditions have become more prevalent.3 A significant part of the etiology of this increase in immune dysregulatory disease may be the very fact that infectious organisms like helminths are less frequently present to stimulate robust regulatory responses. One survival tactic of helminths appears to be reducing inflammation4 through selective down-regulation of certain aspects of the host’s immune function.5 There are multiple hypotheses about the mechanism of helminths’ ability to dampen hyperimmune reactions,6 but one predominant theory (the “old friends” hypothesis) revolves around the ability of helminths to induce a robust regulatory T-helper 3 (Th3), aka regulatory T cell (or T-reg) response.7
What is Helminth therapy?
Helminth therapy is by far one of the most effective treatments that we have seen in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, including PANS/PANDAS and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In fact, we often refer to the therapy as a possible “game changer” for many of our children. In my practice, we do not order or administer more invasive immunotherapy interventions (such as IVIG, plasmapheresis, or rituximab) because we typically do not need to; helminth therapy has been so effective, most of our patients do not need to seek out other treatments.
How do helminths affect the immune system?
Helminths affect the body’s autoimmune response , and the higher prevalence of autoimmunity in modern times can best be summed up by the “Hygiene Hypothesis.” It is estimated that 20% of children are diagnosed with chronic illness, and the rates continue to rise (Blackwell et al., Pediatrics, 2019). Some reports estimate that one in every two individuals are diagnosed with a chronic illness, many of which are autoimmune diseases. The Hygiene Hypothesis, first proposed by David Strachan in 1989, intended to explain the increasing rates of asthma in highly developed countries. He observed increased allergies in firstborn children, and postulated that this is because they are exposed much later to infections brought into the home, versus earlier exposure to their younger siblings. He suggested that contact with a high number of infections early in life could appropriately train the adaptive immune system, and that significant changes in human living standards and the improvement of sanitary conditions meant that people had less exposure to infection in general, but especially in childhood. This in turn causes an impaired, hyper reactive immune response to environmental triggers (Strachan, BMJ, 1989).
Why are helminths unable to complete their life cycle?
In general helminths are unable to complete their life-cycle in humans, and the major determinant of pathology is the number of worms initially infecting the host, the worm load. The majority of UK-born individuals with worm infections will be asymptomatic due to short-lived exposure and relatively light infection loads.
What percentage of Bangladeshi women have intestinal helminths?
However, screening of antenatal clinic attendees suggests around 10 per cent of women from the Indian subcontinent may be carrying intestinal helminths, with up to 45 per cent of Bangladeshi women har- bouring infection, the majority being hookworm and Trichuris.
How many cases of filaria were reported in the UK between 1999 and 2008?
Filarial transmission is inefficient and it is unusual for those without prolonged exposure to the vector species to acquire sig - nificant infection. Only 85 cases of filarial disease were reported in the UK between 1999 and 2008, 36 being a tissue filaria, Loa loa, five cases of Onchocercaand 23 of Mansonella.
How many cases of pneumonitis are there in India?
Around 60 cases are reported to PHE annually, the majority appearing to be con - tracted in the Indian subcontinent, but an accurate travel history is often not reported. Infection is by accidental ingestion of eggs, with a larval migratory phase through the lungs that may cause a transient pneumonitis.
Can threadworms be recurrent?
recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs). In some studies up to 36 per cent of young females with UTI have been found to be co-infected with threadworm. Reinfection from fingers and contaminated objects, such as bedding, is easy. A third of infections are asymptomatic and blood tests are almost always normal.
Is gut helminth infection asymptomatic?
Most infections in the UK are in migrants from tropical countries. The majority of individuals with gut helminths will be relatively asymptomatic, though a variety of symptoms may be attributa - ble to the helminth infection (see Tables 2 and 3).
The Origins of Helminth Deficiency in Industrialised Populations
- The second half of the 19th century saw the beginning of the end for many helminthsin industrialised nations. 1. The indoor flush toilet became widely adopted during this period of increasing urbanisation and industrial prosperity, coinciding with a dramatic expansion of the se…
Recognition of The Effects of Helminth Deficiency
- 1932
1. The first description of regional ileitis. This condition, characterised by inflammation of the terminal ileum, would later become known as Crohn’s disease. Its appearance at this time was arguably a result of the increasing loss of helminthsfrom the human biome due to factors includ… - 1968
1. The first observation by a researcher of a possible relationship between a reduction in parasiticcolonisation and an increased incidence of autoimmune disease.
Helminthic Therapy Today
- Today, there are two distinct approaches being taken to helminthic therapy. Firstly, medical researchers are working towards developing pharmaceutical products by synthesising molecules mined from helminth excretory/secretory products. In this approach, clinicians working within mainstream medicine will be unable to offer helminthic therapy to their patients until researcher…
See Also
- For a general introduction to helminthic therapy, see the following page. 1. Introduction to helminthic therapy The following list of 900 scientific papers encompasses the history of helminthic therapyresearch. 1. Helminthic therapy research The next two pages give more detail about specific aspects of helminthic therapyhistory. 1. The evolution of hookworm dosing 1. His…
Overview
Helminthic therapy, an experimental type of immunotherapy, is the treatment of autoimmune diseases and immune disorders by means of deliberate infestation with a helminth or with the eggs of a helminth. Helminths are parasitic worms such as hookworms, whipworms, and threadworms that have evolved to live within a host organism on which they rely for nutrients. These worms are members of two phyla: nematodes, which are primarily used in human helminthic therapy, and fla…
Incidence of autoimmune diseases and parasitic infestation
While it is recognized that there is probably a genetic disposition in certain individuals for the development of autoimmune diseases, the rate of increase in incidence of autoimmune diseases is not a result of genetic changes in humans; the increased rate of autoimmune-related diseases in the industrialized world is occurring in too short a time to be explained in this way. There is evidence that one of the primary reasons for the increase in autoimmune diseases in industrializ…
Hypotheses
Although the mechanism(s) of autoimmune disease development is(are) not fully understood, there is broad agreement that the majority of autoimmune diseases are caused by inappropriate immunological responses to innocuous antigens; these are generally called the hygiene hypothesis, but exist in several variants.
One version proposes that the dysfunction is driven by a branch of the immune system known as …
Proposed mechanism of action
Experimental data support the hypothesis that clinically induced helminthic infections have the ability to alleviate or mitigate immune responses. Most autoimmune disorders are believed to involve hyperactive TH1 or TH17 immune responses that are down-regulated by the promotion of a TH2 response by helminths. Helminths secrete immunoregulatory molecules that promote the induction of regulatory T cells while inhibiting the function of antigen presenting cells and other …
Research
Evidence in support of the idea that helminthic infections reduce the severity of autoimmune diseases is primarily derived from animal models. Studies conducted on mice and rat models of colitis, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and asthma have shown helminth-infected subjects to display protection from the disease. The first clinical studies of helminthic therapy in humans started about 10–15 years ago with the use of Trichirus suis. While helminths are often consider…
Potential side effects
Helminths are extremely successful parasites capable of establishing long-lasting infections within a host. During this time, helminths compete with the host organism's cells for nutrient resources and thus possess the potential to cause harm. However, the number of organisms hosted by individuals undergoing helminthic therapy is very small and any side effects are typically only encountered in the first three months of infection. In the long term, the vast majorit…
See also
• Antihelminthics
• Diseases of affluence
• Effects of parasitic worms on the immune system
• Gut flora
Bibliography
• Velasquez-Manoff, Moises (2013). An Epidemic of Absence: A new way of understanding allergies and autoimmune diseases. Scribner. ISBN 978-1439199398.
• Dunn, Rob (2011). The Wild Life of Our Bodies: Predators, parasites, and partners that shape who we are today. Harper. ISBN 978-0061806483.