In a stunt reminiscent of the TV reality show Fear Factor, dozens of unpaid volunteers have recently been gulping Gatorade laced with 2500 live eggs from parasitic worms. The host, so to speak, of this experiment was gastroenterologist Joel Wein-stock of the University of Iowa in Iowa City. The hoped-for reward for the participants was remission of the disruptive and painful symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Weinstock is among a small but growing group of researchers who believe that parasitic worms, or substances derived from them, could provide effective treatments for not only IBD but also a range pf autoimmune disorders. The idea may sound crazy, but it is buttressed by studies showing that treating mice with eggs, larvae, or extracts of helminths―parasitic worms such as flukes, flatworms, tapeworms, and pinworms—can dampen, and perhaps prevent, allergic reactions, reduce the severity of a multiple sclerosis (MS)-like disease, and block the development of type I diabetes (see sidebar). Recent data indicate that helminths may protect against disease by invigorating so-called regulatory T cells, which function as the immune system's police officers and keep it from running amok. Deficits in or problems with these cells could contribute to many types of immune disorders. "This is the first inkling there is a common thread between diabetes, asthma, and other immune disorders," says Richard Maizels, an immunologist at the University of Edinburgh, U.K. "We suddenly see a huge potential for establishing just how these immune pathologies are regulated."
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