Is obsessive cleanliness our problem?

Hi Betty!

Obsessive cleanliness our problem - not in my case, I can assure you! Probably just as well given the problems of doing housework when you have PMR!! :roll:

However - did you then go on to look up the Nottingham research being done by Pritchard and his group? They are in the middle of a Phase II clinical study using the hookworms for MS patients, results pending in 2011/12. The US guy isn't popular with them as they are worried his claims are going to gain their proper research a bad association as he's flogging it as yet another magic cure-all. But if they were going to do a similar trial for autoimmune arthritises I'd be up for volunteering!

EileenH

Hi Betty,

It certainly makes for interesting debate...though I can't see myself voluntarily ingesting worms any time soon :lol:.

However, when you stop to think about it in more depth, how many of us take \"live\" yoghurt to restore the natural balance in our digestive systems or to treat thrush infections, and the treatment of gangrenous tissue using maggots has had a lot of success...so there may well be a future for the hookworms too :!: .

Hope everyone is having a restful and pain free week-end.

best wishes,

Pauline.

Thanks, Eileen. Googled Prof Pritchard and read his account. Very intresting esp the bit that says could the worms be used to damp down over-active immune systems and also that their research is aimed at establishing whether they could provide an alternative to immuno suppression drugs.

I've revised my feeling about the worms and, like you, would be willing to have a go when/if he gets round to trialling their effect on PMR/GCA. I reckon we'd get Pauline to join us, too!! I.m not sure I wouldn't prefer the worms to whatever big pharma comes up with.

I see there is an email contact address for prof. P but maybe that is just for academics. BettyE

Good find BettyE. Gives a new perspective on the old song, [i:2e8e032352]'Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I'm going down to the garden to eat worms'[/i:2e8e032352] doesn't it?

I googled 'symbiosis'. There's plenty of examples in the animal world. Some bacteria in the gut of mammals actually produce the B12 vitamin. But there'd be a couple of things I'd want to know about hookworms before I took it on, like do they reproduce in the human body? If you knocked 'em off with the annual de-worming, would the autoimmune disease come back? Bit of a scaredy cat I am.

Jill

Hi Jill,

As far as I gathered from the swift read I had, in the normal cycle in the wild the worms enter the body through the skin (usually the feet) when the human host is in water and take up residence in the gut where they produce eggs which leave by the obvious route! They hatch in water and then seek their next host. This means that the infestation cannot be controlled - the more you are in water, the greater the chance that worms can attach to and enter through the skin and so the more worms can set up home in the gut. The worms are only present in certain water sources in the tropics (I think) - they aren't a problem in Europe - and eradication of them is the aim for the benefit of the local human population.

In the controlled set-up the scientists are using, a set number of worms are given access to the skin. They have established that too many worms makes you feel a bit uncomfortable and somewhere between 10 and 25 is acceptable and enough to have the required effect on the disease process! The worms themselves don't seem to leave the gut, just the eggs, so it is possible to remove the infestation at any time with a dose of de-worming medication.

One would imagine that the removal of the worms from the gut would also remove the effect on the immune system and result in a return of the symptoms eventually so it would be a case of \"keep taking the tablets - er, worms\"!!! :roll: It does seem an interesting concept but it would be nice to see some data so roll on the completion of this Phase II study. There is plenty of info about their effect on the human body and it seems easy enough to stop the treatment with no residual action - which is more than can be said for some of the chemical drugs.

My scaredy-cat response is to some of the stuff they want us to try now!

EileenH

Thanks Eileen. Just been doing a bit more reading and find we have a plentiful supply of hookworms, even our own variety, in northern territory and they are rampant within the aboriginal population. Agree they may be preferable to what the big pharma comes up with. Heart warming to read of dedicated researchers like Professor Pritchard who, in the old tradition, is willing to use himself as a guinea pig.

Sun's up. Better get on with the day. Enjoy your Sunday. Jill

[quote:c77e85e58a]The worms themselves don't seem to leave the gut, just the eggs, so it is possible to remove the infestation at any time with a dose of de-worming medication[/quote:c77e85e58a]

If they worked and caused no other problems and if the eggs are all excreted I guess the only thing to consider is how long do the worms live. If, say, 15 worms did the trick could we just host them permanently? As long as we steered clear of our septic tank in bare feet we should be ok. I don't rhink the water authorities would be too happy for those on main drains to use this treatment, somehow.

Saw myDoc this AM and am to continue to reduce 0.5 per month with fingers crossed. At that rate I have 14 months to go. Left the worm info with him.