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Subscribe to RSSHere's a disgusting version of the game "would you rather" for your Wednesday afternoon: Lose your colon? Or swallow 1,500 worms?
In 2004, a 36-year-old California man faced that unappetizing conundrum after failed treatments for his ulcerative colitis meant he might need his colon removed, reports MyHealthNewsDaily. Instead, he hopped a plane to Thailand to see a parasitologist -- and then gulped down 1,500 parasitic worm eggs. We'll let you digest that for a minute.
Turns out, the squirmy little worms did the trick to help soothe the man's inflammatory bowel disease symptoms, according to the case study, which was published today in the December issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine. Ulcerative colitis causes inflammation in the colon, which kills the cells that normally line the organ, and painful ulcers form in the cells' place. After this guy swallowed the worms, his body (understandably) tried to get rid of the squiggly creatures by producing a thick lining of mucus (this story just keeps getting grosser, doesn't it?) -- and that helped ease the pain caused by the colitis.
Four years later, when few parasitic worms were still inhabiting his innards, his symptoms returned, and he downed 2,000 more worm eggs. Researcher Mara Broadhurst, a doctoral student in immunology at the University of California, San Francisco, told MyHealthNewsDaily that because his symptoms came back when many of the worms died off, that's a hint that the worms really did help, and the man's issues didn't simply go away on their own.
But if you suffer from the same symptoms, calm down: No one's going to force thousands of worms down your throat any time soon. Actually, Broadhurst says that, ideally, scientists would take a compound from the parasitic worms (called helminths) and use that to make a treatment that's a little easier to swallow.
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Um, all I can say is ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!
As a Crohns and Ulcerative colitis sufferer, I would welcome the worm therapy but apparently it is ILLEGAL in the U.S. So instead I am forced to inject pharmeceutical poisons into my body in order to keep my colon!!! I wonder if pharmecuetical companies have something to do with worm therapy being illegal in the U.S.???Why let someone ingest nearly free worms when you can make them pay $5500 for 1 or 2 shots every month???!!!Make this worm therapy available to AMERICANS so they dont have to fly to Thailand!!!!
Dee, that would be the FDA not the drug companies. In this country it is illegal to prescribe medicines that haven't been proven through clinical trials. Trust me, the drug companies spend billions on these trials - and most drugs fail them and never make it to market. Drug companies are not the ones responsible for the laws demanding clinical trials. It is actually not about the money - it is about safety - or do you think the government shouldn't be involved in protecting citizens from quacks selling snake oils? Perhaps with some studies besides this single anecdotal case, this therapy may become available here in the future. Until then...swallow parasites at your own risk.
Seriously, what is the difference between pharmaceutical "poisons" and helminth parasites? I think it's strange that you view parasites as somehow healthy and safe with such little proof. You are all too ready to demonize medicines and embrace invasive gut worms. I would say you definitely have a biased agenda.
yeah, try again friend. the FDA actually does much of the drug testing that big pharma profits from. yeah, I know, not too well publicized. look into it. it's quite a scam. big pharma pretends it needs to spend billions on testing and that's why they charge so much, when in fact the US taxpayer foots the bill for most of the new drugs that come out.
Pharma profits from drug testing? Perhaps the smaller contractors who actually perform the testing as a business, but not the manufacturers of the drug being tested. That is ridiculous.
I know the industry pretty well and don't need to rely on conspiracy web sites for my information. And no I don't work in the industry and neither am I a consultant.
It can take ten years or more to bring a drug to market from the first moment of discovery. A lot of investment goes into designing the drug, the manufacturing process, the quality assurance schemes, as well as doing the actual science and research. The Phase I, II, and III clinical trials, which don't start until after most of the development is completed, can take half a decade to complete in their own right and involves armies of medical specialists, scientists, technicians and researchers. Supplies alone run into tens of millions. Each drug that is developed and brought to market is akin to a moon shot. And then only a small percentage of drug candidates passes these three critical phases. The cost of each failure is rolled into the price of each successful product. Or else the company lays off workers and/or goes under, which happens a lot.
US taxpayers subsidize some of the cost in programs designed to make some drugs more affordable. For instance AIDS drugs that need to be taken for a lifetime would bankrupt the ordinary citizen. Don't blame the drug companies for the high costs - everything in this world takes money - even critical things like drugs. Further, most companies work to reduce the costs of manufacturing once a drug is on the market. They know an unaffordable drug is no good to anybody and won't sell. Unfortunately every drug needs to have a unique manufacturing process, these things aren't like cars on an assembly line where you can just make a few changes to make a different drug, so expenses are high.
Please comment again when you have an understanding of what it is you are commenting about.
After the rigorous and exhuastive testing regime as stated by Radagast and then released for use for years, there are many drugs that have, and are being banned because they simply do not work or cause more harm than good. Sure, I'd love a cream to cure my acne, but I don't want to end up with pancreatic cancer in exchange. Unfortunately, some countries are still using drugs which are banned in the USA or vice versa.
Radagast- You obviously must work for a pharmaceutical companies because I know you can't be THAT stupid!! Ever heard of LOBBIEST??? Lobbiests influence which laws are passed and that determines how and when which drugs get to market. As for worms, do your research before you open your mouth because worms are healthier than the cancer causing crap we are forced to put in our bodies. Go back several generations before everything was so sterile, back then we ALL had worms from lack of a steril environment and guess what?? There was no such diesease as Crohns and ulcerative colitis!! Now, I think you should go back to your desk and keep on making a buck. Just remember, it may be you one day and lets see if you are so happy to ingest what they have to offer.
Suffering from Crohn's I can tell you that gut problems are a pain. I'm not sure I'm ready for worms though. My problem lately seems to be that no matter what I eat or when I eat I have a lot of gas. That certainly keeps me from wanting to socialize.
First off let me say I am so sorry that you have Crohn's , my wife suffered with it for nearly 40 years before she lost her battle with it. You didn't mention if you were pre or post operative for the disease but if you are pre operative, I would think that the treatment would be worth the "nausea"
E-e-w-w-w! Gross!!
Try the candida diet, this will help tremendously with the gas problem.
Dear economy killer: I too suffer with the same condition. I was diagnosed with "gastritis" and prescribed Omeprazol for the condition. I worked to relieve the gas and most importantly, whenever I ate, even a little bit of "something that causes gas", I immediately had to go to the bathroom, post haste!I had to plan my every move suchnas shopping, restaurant eating and the like. It would come on like gangbusters. The gas was forcing my intestines to over function and force the bowel movement. After mucvh expirementation with various gas reducing products, I successfully found a product called Gaviscon. An atacid you take before eating and also after. Problem elminated. Gas gone. No more running to the bathroom.
I've also got Chrons and used to get lots of gas. eating 50% raw foods, eating gluten free foods and taking digestive enzymes and HCL with each meal has virtually eliminated my gas problem. Oh, eating at regular intervals - say 5 hours apart - also helps.
Reminds me of this song.....
Chorus:
Nobody likes me, everybody hates me - think I'll go eat worms!
Big, fat, juicy ones; little eeny weeny ones - see how they wiggle & squirm!
Verse:
First you bite the head off, then you suck the guts out - throw the tail away!
Nobody knows how I survive on worms three times a day! Yuck!
Repeat chorus.
FUNNY! Excellent post!
Good post! LOL!
Alternate version:
Nobody likes me everybody hates me, guess I'll go eat worms.
Big ones, fat ones, itty bitty skinny ones, seem them wiggle and squirm.
Bite the heads off, peel the skins off, throw the juice away.
I don't see how birds can live on worms three times a day!
Mmmmmm.....I'll add this verse to my songbook.
This type of research has been ongoing for some time, I first heard about it in 2005 from a study at U of Iowa. Seems to be little movement on the issue in the US in terms of trials proving its efficacy and development of therapies.
That's because the FDA prefers that we ingest their "approved" poisons that make pharmaceutical companies rich beyond imagination.
Yes, this has been under investigation by "western" docs for a while now. I recently read about the first documented case, in which a researcher actually conducted the experiment on himself to elucidate the relationship between IgE mediated parasitic immune response and IBS.
He cured his problem. Now, a more modernized and less risky treatment shouldn't involve parasitic worms if possible, but rather the antigenic molecules they present when encountered by our immune system. The area is certainly an intriguing one for immunologists.
And no. The FDA doesn't "prefer" anything. The FDA has been neutered by deregulation efforts, just like the USDA and the banking industry They simply cannot fight the lobbying power imposed by pharma due to lack of adequate resources and jurisdictional concerns. They actually do a pretty good job when one considers the restrictions they have in terms of budget and manpower. Externalities of our pro-corporatist economic state.
The American Doctors are using Leeches again in certain Surgical Procedures so, this story makes sense to me.
Also, maggots have proven successful in wound therapy when other medicinal methods have failed. As a result, patients have been able to keep their limbs which they might otherwise have lost.
Try reading:
Evolution Rx: A Practical Guide to Harnessing Our Innate Capacity for Health and Healing - Paperback - Bargain Price (Apr. 6, 2010) by William Meller
The book is quite eye-opening. Gave a copy to my doctor brother after reading. The author is quite pro-parasitic worms :-)
Sign me up!!! One time dose every few years compared to 21 pills a day that barely reduce inflammation, or worse yet the steroids with side effects...
Germany has been using this treatment for several years, I wish someone in the US would start a trial soon. In my immediate family alone we have 5 cases of Crohn's and Colitis.
I heard about something similar to this for allergy sufferers involving hookworms. If you listen to podcasts check out Radiolabs podcast called 'Parasites', there is a guy who cured his allergies from getting hookworms. Apparently some 'parasites' have spent a long time learning to cohabitate in our bodies and some learned to be helpful in order to get what they need. Very interesting and people who are suffering should not rule out looking into parasitic treatments.
I'm game...I'm done with all the pills and currently trying Nicotine to help my UC. I didn't have UC when I smoked, then I quit and less than a year later I had it. There are studies that show that Nicotine actually helps UC (but oddly makes Crohn's worse). I'm using the lowest dose patch and combining with regular enemas and it is working.
Is this covered by insurance?
Amazing... I wonder who the first guy was that thought? Hey, maybe this jar of worms will help my sore butt? Gulp!
Somebody at some point had to try this out first....
Too bad this treatment really works. Being a parasitologist myself I understand that the treatment this time is better than the disease. Open up your minds to the possibilities of new treatments that have been among us forever.
As a choice between parasitic worms and projectile diarrhea, I'm thinking worms sound pretty damned good. Where can I get some?
You call them parasitic worms, on Wall St they call them bankers.
So they aren't really parasites then. It's a mutualitic symbiosis. Both parties benefit.
this may be off topic buuuut thats actually a really intresting point, if theyre doing more good than harm, are they still parasites? even if scientifically classified that way it seems like in this situation they dont quite qualify
just like marriage
;-)
As for the eeeww factor, remember in some cultures it's perfectly normal to eat bugs, dogs:(, and bird feet. Next time you eat a sausage, remember what it's incased in. Yum.
Just a thought- no matter what your doctor tells you- check all medications as source of any kind of bowel problems.
I was diagnosed with colitus and IB disease and suffered for years...after having other side effects with Zoloft, I quit it and guess what? In 2 years I've had not 1 bowel symptom. They are now admitting antidepressents are 1 of the major causes of bowel and muscle problems.
Having suffered from Crohn's for almost twenty years now, I can tell you that I'm not the least bit put off by the notion of swallowing a concoction containing worm larva. From what I've read about this experimental treatment, there are no risks (the larva used are pig whipworm larva, that can't--unlike human whipworms--do any damage to a human) and no side effects. The small trials I've read about had a high success rate. I agree with"Faith" above: compared with all of these dangerous high-side effect immune-suppressing drugs I'm on now, this option sounds like a godsend. If live, squirming worms were what I had to swallow to have a shot at relief from this disease, I'd do it this second. (Not that that's what the helminth solution is like, despite what this sensationalist article would suggest). Yet when I brought it up to my former gastroenterologist, he said that they had discussed it at one of his conferences, and collectively decided that patients would be too put off my the "worm" factor. Let those who are suffering decide, please: until you yourself have had chronic bloody diarrhea for years on end, you have no place making these judgements!
My brother-in-law has Chron's and because of the medication he's on, my sister would have to have an abortion if she got pregnant. The meds are that toxic. I also work on a parasite (although mine hasn't been shown to be beneficial) and they are amazing creatures. It would be interesting to know if areas where these helminths are endemic have less prevalence of bowel problems.
Is it me or am I the only one that has noticed pharmasuticals never seem to develop a cure for anything. When is the last time a cure for a disease was discovered. It seems like the only thing we are capable of now is treatments. I guess there is more money in that. The American people need to wise up to the money making schemes of big medicine. There should be some government overwatch to make sure these guys aren't holding out. The story said doctors were working on making a treatement for this disease thats easier to swallow, lets just hope the cost is easy to swallow also.
I have been saying there will never be a cure for cancer because it make way to too much money for medical practices and and anything associated with it. Pretty much all of our current diseases will always we treatable but never cured, all for the sake of money! I say get some worms from a vet or a pig farm...get rid of the docotors (middle men)!!
Right on Mr. Patterson! Why kill the goose that lays the golden eggs?
Big medicine, big money. They want you to be sick to get rich from your suffering. Learn about the benefits of herbs. Treat yourself. 12 million bottles of mylanta recalled? I was diasgnosed diabetic, but not any more. Learn holistic health. Save yourself! Say no to flu shots, too.
UH. . . there are too many 'cancers' and each one needs to be treated differently--what works for one will most likely not work for another. Some cancers are curable, some are not and, some are a death sentence.
My young son did worm therapy for similar GI issues. It's no big deal, it is not voodoo, you do not "eat worms." He drank just an ounce or two of rather salty, cloudy, egg solution (no, you cannot see them) over a period of weeks according to the published study protocol. This is not the worm in a tequila bottle that this article seems to imply.
I don't know about ulcers in the colon or eating parasitic worms, but I do have a real problem with my digestive track. It seems that everything I eat turns into a smelly, brown semi-solid substance. HELP!
Sounds like fudge brownies to me. Does it have walnuts in it? Best with walnuts.
Yeah... you know that song "I Puked In My Mouth"? Well, I just did that.
I used to have bright red blood in my stools, bad acid reflux and pains in my throat and ate tums like they were candy so I gave up smoking after 37 years and I'm back to normal. Amost never have to eat a tums now. Feel younger too since my stomach isn't in a constant knot. If anyone smokes and having stomach trouble I suggest.....
Helminthes therapy has been around for a long time. You don't hear about it much in the U.S. because if the ick factor. Diseases like ulcerative colitis and Crohns can benefit from helminthes treatment, but it can be a little pricey and very hard to obtain. I suppose the treatment is not all that expensive if it works or helps one's condition. I have ulcerative colitis and I follow a diet called the SCD. It's basically eliminating sugars, except honey and what is natually found in fruits, eliminating all grains and just a few other starches like potatoes, and eliminating certain dairy. It has helped me tremendously. I still have the disease but it's much less severe. Probiotics and homemade yogurt is an important part of the diet. It takes some lifestyle changes but it gets easier as you go. I saw results in two days and by the end of the first month, my symptoms were completely gone and I was off all medication a month after that. It's so much better than going to GI's who are inept and unwilling to think outside the box. Some of the drugs that are prescribed to ulcerative colitis & Crohns patients are very dangerous. You can search SCD (specific carbohydrate diet) or do a search for "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" by Elaine Gottschall. I'm not selling anything here. The diet let me have my life back and it has helped thousands of people around the world. There are other treatments out there that are equally as interesting and helpful as the parasitic helminthes treatment and SCD. In Australia and some parts of Europe, they are doing something called "Fecal Flora Transplant". In a nutshell, they take a healthy person's stool specimen, add water and blend it, they strain it and administer it through an enema. Before all this happens, the patient is given a colonoscopy and other extensive testing to see what exactly is going on. I think they are given antibiotics a week prior to the transfusion to clear out all flora...good and bad. The idea is to repopulate the patient's gut flora with healthy flora from a healthy donor. This doctor in Australia, Dr. Borody / Brody is doing a thousand transplants a year. I think it has a 50% success rate for people with ulcerative colitis and Crohns but I'm not completely sure about that. I do know that it has a 100% CURE rate for people with clostridium diificile. One thing people must understand, whether your doctor prescribes an antibiotic for gut issues or even an ear infection, most of them, espcially the broad spectrum ones will kill off all your gut flora, even the good flora. This leaves you wide open for a number of gut ailments, including ulcerative colitis, Crohns, clostridium difficile, etc. Always take a high quality probiotic and eat a lot of yogurt when taking antibiotics to replenish healthy gut glora. One other treatment for Crohns and ulcerative colitis patients I was just reading about is a medication called "low dose natrexalone". I don't know much about this one but I've been reading about some long term studies that seem promising. For anyone out there suffering from a digestive disease, don't give up. Keep searching. Take responsibility for your health. Don't rely completely on your doctor. I went to five different GI's and all of them were uncaring, inep and unable to think outside their prescription pad. They all said food has nothing to do with the disease and although they're right in the sense that food did not cause my disease, I was able to take control of my ulcerative colitis by changing my diet.
All natural.