Intestinal worms show their up side

Intestinal worms show their up side
Parasites rally immune cells against asthma and allergies.
Charlotte Schubert




Being infected with parasitic worms might not sound all that desirable. But it seems that worms may protect against asthma and other allergies by cranking up the production of cells that calm the immune system.

Parasitic worms infect some 2 billion people across the world. For many, the worms cause no obvious symptoms, but others suffer from dysentery, stunted growth and malnutrition. Now it seems there might be a good side.


Regions of the world with high rates of parasite infection also have low rates of asthma, points out Rick Maizels of the University of Edinburgh, UK, who led the study. Previous research in Gabon, for example, has shown that children infected with worms have a reduced allergic response (see 'The worm has turned').

Researchers had suspected that this effect was brought about by increased production of calming regulatory T cells. But no one had proven the link. "This is the paper we've been waiting for," says Thomas Wynn, a parasitologist at the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease near Washington DC.
http://www.nature.com/news/2005/051107/full/051107-1.html

Certainly Sir!..With or without worms?

I thought this was going to be about the GOP...something about parasitic worms always makes me think of the current administration

The worms apparently have a good side.

http://fray.com/drugs/worm/ <--- Do not read with dinner unless you have a strong stomach!!!

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