Whipworms to help IBD?
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Whipworms to help IBD?
I am new to this site. I have been diagnosed with terminal ileitis. I found this article on hystersisters.com (another site that I am a member of). I thought it was pretty interesting. What do you all think!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3604189.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3604189.stm
32 YR OLD/ DAYTON, OH - Crohns only in terminal Ileum - Diagnosed 10/2008
Hi, and welcome to the group.
The "pig whipworm" theory has been around for about ten years, but I've never heard if it was ever developed into a commercially viable treatment. It is indeed an effective treatment, (at least in theory), apparently because it gives the immune system something to concentrate on, so that it stops "getting it's workout" by initiating autoimmune reactions against the body's own tissues.
I'm pretty sure that one of the issues impeding it's rise to popularity, lies in the challenge of convincing IBD patients to drink a "worm egg cocktail" at least once a month, to continually replenish the supply of worms. At one time, about seven or eight years ago, I was sick as a dog, with no hope of finding relief, but if someone had offered me that treatment option, I really don't think I would have been willing to try it. Fortunately for me, at least, I found a way to control my symptoms by modifying my diet in a way that was much more palatable. LOL. I have no doubt that it will work, it just doesn't appeal to me. YMMV.
What treatment are you currently using? Are you having any success controlling your symptoms? Have you tried any dietary changes? Some of us have found that we can control our symptoms by diet alone, others control their symptoms by meds alone, and some of us find it necessary to use a combination of diet and meds in order to achieve remission.
Again, welcome to our online family. We have quite a few members from your state, so you're in good company.
Tex
The "pig whipworm" theory has been around for about ten years, but I've never heard if it was ever developed into a commercially viable treatment. It is indeed an effective treatment, (at least in theory), apparently because it gives the immune system something to concentrate on, so that it stops "getting it's workout" by initiating autoimmune reactions against the body's own tissues.
I'm pretty sure that one of the issues impeding it's rise to popularity, lies in the challenge of convincing IBD patients to drink a "worm egg cocktail" at least once a month, to continually replenish the supply of worms. At one time, about seven or eight years ago, I was sick as a dog, with no hope of finding relief, but if someone had offered me that treatment option, I really don't think I would have been willing to try it. Fortunately for me, at least, I found a way to control my symptoms by modifying my diet in a way that was much more palatable. LOL. I have no doubt that it will work, it just doesn't appeal to me. YMMV.
What treatment are you currently using? Are you having any success controlling your symptoms? Have you tried any dietary changes? Some of us have found that we can control our symptoms by diet alone, others control their symptoms by meds alone, and some of us find it necessary to use a combination of diet and meds in order to achieve remission.
Again, welcome to our online family. We have quite a few members from your state, so you're in good company.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
I like to welcome you to the site also and I'm afraid I'd have to be pretty desperate to drink the worm eggs. Asacol sound much more plalatable. HaHa
Not a laughing matter, really, but I won't say I'd NEVER do it. I'd have to be convinced that they died SOON though.
Hope you can find some useful information on our site.
Shirley
P.S. We lived near Dayton, Ohio for a while once (Troy, Ohio). Still have friends in the area.
Not a laughing matter, really, but I won't say I'd NEVER do it. I'd have to be convinced that they died SOON though.
Hope you can find some useful information on our site.
Shirley
P.S. We lived near Dayton, Ohio for a while once (Troy, Ohio). Still have friends in the area.
When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber"
-- Winston Churchill
-- Winston Churchill
There are new studies on using hookworms as a possible treatment for crohn's , I have included the link below for you.
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/public-affa ... 0-oct-2007
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/public-affa ... 0-oct-2007
I checked, and helmenthic treatment is indeed a commercial reality. It's recommended for virtually any autoimmune disease. If you want to try the treatment, you can buy pig whipworm eggs, without a prescription, from a company in Thialand, which is evidently somehow connected with the German company Ovamed GmbH & Co. KG, (though I'm not sure if they are an official subsidiary). This apparently is a treatment developed at the University of Iowa, and a lot of background information is available at the Ovamed website. IOW, Ovamed is licensed by the University of Iowa to manufacture and sell this "technology". You can even see how the product is made, (in the guts of live pigs, and then into the laboratory, in vitro). Here is the primary link:
http://www.ovamed.org/
I have a hunch the hookworm treatment would work much better, if it reaches the commercial production stage, since it would eliminate having to continually "restock" the worms every few weeks. Apparently, control using helminths fluctuates, because a steady population is impossible to maintain, as the worms die off, and have to be replenished.
If anyone tries it, be sure to keep us updated. Apparently, it even helps with issues such as asthma, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, insulin-dependent (Type 1) diabetes, etc., - not just digestive system autoimmune diseases.
Tex
http://www.ovamed.org/
I have a hunch the hookworm treatment would work much better, if it reaches the commercial production stage, since it would eliminate having to continually "restock" the worms every few weeks. Apparently, control using helminths fluctuates, because a steady population is impossible to maintain, as the worms die off, and have to be replenished.
If anyone tries it, be sure to keep us updated. Apparently, it even helps with issues such as asthma, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, insulin-dependent (Type 1) diabetes, etc., - not just digestive system autoimmune diseases.
Tex
I remember being out in Iowa visiting our daughter and we had a cookout and a few of her medical school friends were there.
She had told them that I have collagenous colitis and a couple of the med students told me that studies were being done on the whip worms. That was about 4 years ago.
She's dating a young man that just graduated with 2 diplomas, 1 medical & the other his PhD in molecular & cellular biology, so I think I'll ask him about those whip worms to see what's up with them....
Love
Dee~~~
She had told them that I have collagenous colitis and a couple of the med students told me that studies were being done on the whip worms. That was about 4 years ago.
She's dating a young man that just graduated with 2 diplomas, 1 medical & the other his PhD in molecular & cellular biology, so I think I'll ask him about those whip worms to see what's up with them....
Love
Dee~~~
"What the heart gives away is never gone ... It is kept in the hearts of others."
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