Diseases of the Immune SystemDiseases of the Immune System considers the effect of the friendly bugs, bacteria and Helminths (worms) in the gut, on the Immune System. The Twentieth Century has seen an explosion of 'auto-immune' disease where the body takes revenge on itself. Whilst diseases like Diabetes go back to ancient times, rheumatoid arthritis, heart attack, atherosclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, Multiple Sclerosis MS, and a host of others, on the massive scale seen today, is a relatively new phenomenon. Since 1920 ...In the last 100 or so years, communities have made signifcant strides in cleaning up the water supply and proper hygienic sewerage treatment plants. Whilst this has had the effect of drastically reducing diseases such as Cholera, it has also had the undesired effect of reducing our exposure to beneficial bugs.A century and more ago, people lived closed to the soil, and their gastro-intestinal systems were swarming with friendly, as well as unfriendly bacteria and helminths (worms). Today, we know that eating active yoghurt for example, that is filled with living bacteria like lacto-bacillus, is good for the gut. But worms to counter the diseases of the immune system ...?
Prof. Joel Weinstock, gastro-enterologist.Tufts Medical University of Biomedical Sciences, Boston."Helminths (worms) exert a powerful effect on immunity in the host, by inducing the immune system to 'fight and kill'. They hone and shape the immune respone to bacteria, viruses and parasites thus preventing needless tissue damage. Deworming the population - a major public health project of the early 1900 - took place at the same time as the incidence of the diseases of the immune system really took off. Moreover, diseases such as asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis (MS) remain uncommon in those "under-developed" parts of the world where helminth colonisation of the bowel is still widespread."
Crohn's disease29 patients with refractory Crohn's, an inflammatory bowel disease, were given whipworm ova for six months. Within three months the inflammation in the gut of 76% of the group had responsed very favourably, and 19 of the group (66%) were in remission. (Int. J. Parasitol. 2007)Remember this was a group who not responding well to current best known treatment. In short, they were on the short list for a colostomy. It's a most embarrassing condition. At no time can you ever be more than 2 minutes from the nearest toilet. With some 30s, you get little or no warning. Ulcerative Colitis54 patients were divided into two groups, one of which was dosed with whipworm ova, and the other given a placebo.In this 'double-blind' study neither the patients, nor their doctors, knew who got the worms, and who got the placebo. It's the strongest form of research, removing all forms of bias. 43% of the group that were dosed with whipworm ova, compared with 17% receiving the placebo, responded well to the treatment. Asthma and Multiple SclerosisPreliminary studies with treatment of whipworm ova have been encouraging.Why, in heaven's name you may be asking, is there a page on worms on a Bernard Preston page?!!! For two reasons. I have family, friends and patients suffering from diseases of the immune system, diseases which barely existed a century ago. That alone wakens my interest. But secondly, I love the absurd, the paradoxes, the crazy things of life. That a medical scientist of high repute is seriously talking of dosing his patients with worms to cure diseases like MS, I find profoundly interesting. Right now there is an ortho-manual therapist in the Netherlands getting a hard time from a judge for committing quackery, by claiming that she can help patients with MS by manipulating the neck. I wonder what Judge Renckens would have to say about Prof Weinstock's work! Rheumatoid ArthritisSimilar studies with white mice have shown a reduction in the severity of RA. (Ann. Rheum. Dis. 2008)
"We are teeming with life, and we really are part of the environment. When we try to separate ourselves from the environment and exposures to these organisms, we leave ourselves predisposed to diseases of the immune system." (Rheumatology News International, Sept 2008) - Prof JV Weinstock IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONSOther diseases of the immune system.
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