Have you ever thought that tiny worms could be used as medicine? It sounds crazy, right? Well, a group of scientists from the Malaghan Institute believe it might be possible.
They have been studying whether hookworms, a type of small worm, could help people with a sickness called ‘inflammatory bowel disease’.
This sickness makes the inside of a person’s stomach and intestines become very sore and swollen.
What’s the Problem?
One type of inflammatory bowel disease is called ‘ulcerative colitis’. People with this sickness have to take a lot of medicine every day to keep their pain under control.
Even if they feel okay, they have to keep taking the medicine, or their sickness could come back. That can be hard to remember, and if they forget, they could end up in a lot of pain again.
The Study: Using Worms as Medicine
The scientists wanted to find out if there could be another way to keep the sickness under control. So, they did an experiment with people who have ulcerative colitis but are feeling okay right now (we call this ‘remission’).
Some people in the experiment were given a small amount of hookworm larvae (baby worms), and others were given a fake medicine (this is called a ‘placebo’).
The people in the experiment then reported back on how they were feeling, and the scientists took samples to study in their lab.
They wanted to see if the worms could help to keep the people’s sickness under control.
The Results: Good News
The results of the study were very exciting. They found that the people who were given the hookworm larvae didn’t have more problems than the people who were given the placebo.
And they found that the worms could live in the body for a very long time.
The best part? Dr. Tom Mules, one of the scientists, says that if the worms work, people might not need to take daily medicine anymore.
Instead, they could get a dose of worms, and then forget about it. The worms could keep their sickness under control without them having to remember to take medicine every day.
The Future: More Research Needed
Before we can start using worms as medicine, the scientists need to do more experiments to make sure it’s safe and effective. They also want to see if the worms could help with other sicknesses, too.
This is very exciting news for people with ulcerative colitis and other similar sicknesses.
It might seem a bit gross to think about having worms in your body, but if it could help keep people healthy without needing to take lots of medicine, it could be a game-changer.
So, the next time you see a worm, remember that it might just be a future medicine!
If you care about health, please read studies about how dairy foods may influence depression risk, and ultra-processed foods linked to common bowel disease.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about tooth loss linked to inflammatory bowel disease, and extra-virgin olive oil could reduce depression symptoms.
The study was published in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.
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