4 ms·

Very interesting. Can someone comment if there is actual science behind it or the two cases the article gives can be explained by other non-scientific factors?

cpncrunch 10y ago
It's plausible, but so far no clinical trials have been done AFAIK. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helminthic_therapy#Research https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helminthic_therapy#Research
- refurb 10y ago
  As someone else mentioned, Coronado Biosciences conducted a large, double-blinded study using pig whipworms for ulcerative colitis. There was no difference between the treatment and placebo arms.
  - cpncrunch 10y ago
    More info here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4374592/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4374592/ It looks like it was for Crohn's.
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
  - Houshalter 10y ago
    What's most interesting is that the placebo was remarkably effective. That seems hard to believe and maybe it is a fluke. Anyway the article said the study hasn't been published so maybe there are more details.
    - cpncrunch 10y ago
      No that is actually a pretty typical placebo response for diarrhea or bowel movements. See my other comment here for specific details.
      - Houshalter 10y ago
        Well it's still the most interesting part to me. It's crazy that a medical condition as objective as diarrhea or stomach pain can be so heavily influenced by psychology.
        cpncrunch 10y ago
        Yes it is fascinating. It's well established that the stress system modulates bowel motility (via crh) and absorption (via cortisol).
        refurb 10y ago
        Don't forget that's it's common for autoimmune diseases to wax and wane. Even if a patients get no therapy at all, the disease often gets better for a short period of time.
        cpncrunch 10y ago
        Also, stress affects autoimmunity [1], so it's possible that the placebo effect modulated the autoimmune disease itself. [1] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S156899720700170X http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568997207...
    - jvandonsel 10y ago
      "That seems hard to believe and maybe it is a fluke" Pun intended?
victoro 10y ago
Carl Zimmer's very interesting book Parasite Rex (though now over a decade and a half old) cites some studies on using worms to treat Crohn's disease and googling around yields this a more recent paper published in Science about studies done on mice [1]. [1] Layperson Summary - http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/04/parasitic-worms-may-prevent-crohn-s-disease-altering-bacterial-balance http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/04/parasitic-worms-may-p... [2] Actual Article - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/352/6285/608 http://science.sciencemag.org/content/352/6285/608

cpncrunch 10y ago

It's plausible, but so far no clinical trials have been done AFAIK. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helminthic_therapy#Research https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helminthic_therapy#Research

refurb 10y ago
As someone else mentioned, Coronado Biosciences conducted a large, double-blinded study using pig whipworms for ulcerative colitis. There was no difference between the treatment and placebo arms.
- cpncrunch 10y ago
  More info here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4374592/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4374592/ It looks like it was for Crohn's.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- Houshalter 10y ago
  What's most interesting is that the placebo was remarkably effective. That seems hard to believe and maybe it is a fluke. Anyway the article said the study hasn't been published so maybe there are more details.
  - cpncrunch 10y ago
    No that is actually a pretty typical placebo response for diarrhea or bowel movements. See my other comment here for specific details.
    - Houshalter 10y ago
      Well it's still the most interesting part to me. It's crazy that a medical condition as objective as diarrhea or stomach pain can be so heavily influenced by psychology.
      - cpncrunch 10y ago
        Yes it is fascinating. It's well established that the stress system modulates bowel motility (via crh) and absorption (via cortisol).
      - refurb 10y ago
        Don't forget that's it's common for autoimmune diseases to wax and wane. Even if a patients get no therapy at all, the disease often gets better for a short period of time.
        cpncrunch 10y ago
        Also, stress affects autoimmunity [1], so it's possible that the placebo effect modulated the autoimmune disease itself. [1] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S156899720700170X http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568997207...
  - jvandonsel 10y ago
    "That seems hard to believe and maybe it is a fluke" Pun intended?

victoro 10y ago

Carl Zimmer's very interesting book Parasite Rex (though now over a decade and a half old) cites some studies on using worms to treat Crohn's disease and googling around yields this a more recent paper published in Science about studies done on mice [1]. [1] Layperson Summary - http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/04/parasitic-worms-may-prevent-crohn-s-disease-altering-bacterial-balance http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/04/parasitic-worms-may-p... [2] Actual Article - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/352/6285/608 http://science.sciencemag.org/content/352/6285/608