Re: helminths to treat MS

[Guest guest]

To say because one individual lived on a farm and developed MS despite being

exposed to more bugs than someone living in the city, that therefore

the hygiene hypothesis is baseless, is absurd. That's like saying " my

grandfather smoked 20 cigarettes a day for sixty years and never got sick so

cigarettes don't cause cancer " . It is equally ridiculous to say that living on a

farm provides universal protection from MS, etc., is silly, too.

Besides which, someone living on a farm in the last half of the 20th century is

still living in a far more hygienic environment than the one humans

evolved in. It is only " dirty " relative to some other environments in modern

countries, it is super clean compared to somewhere in the third world or to

the kind of environment we would have lived in as hunter-gatherers.

Which of the many researchers did you speak to who was so dismissive of this

concept? To rubbish the hygiene hypothesis so casually when there is

so much evidence and science to support it is cavalier and I seriously doubt the

researcher/promoter you spoke with is credible. Who is this mystery

promoter and what aspect of the hygiene hypothesis is he promoting and why?

If anyone doubts me about the hygiene hypothesis read the following paper

describing how people with relapsing-remitting MS go into remission if

they happen to catch intestinal worms, the results are stunning. Any kind of

worm will work, it looks like, and this is a strong, well-designed and

executed study. Not the opinion of some unnamed guy. This is very strong

evidence in favor of the hygiene hypothesis, and it has the advantage of

having been reviewed by serious scientists before being published in a very

well-respected science journal: ls of Neurology, 2007;61:97–108.

This is the official journal of the American Neurological Association and the

Child Neurology Society. So it is a very credible source.

Here is the abstract, you can download the full paper from the Files section of

the group Helminthic therapy

(http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/helminthictherapy/).

Objective: To assess whether parasite infection is correlated with a reduced

number of exacerbations and altered immune reactivity in multiple

sclerosis (MS).

Methods: A prospective, double-cohort study was performed to assess the clinical

course and radiological findings in 12 MS patients presenting

associated eosinophilia. All patients presented parasitic infections with

positive stool specimens. In all parasite-infected MS patients, the

eosinophilia

was not present during the 2 previous years. Eosinophil counts were monitored

at 3- to 6-month intervals. When counts became elevated, patients

were enrolled in the study. Interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10, IL-12, transforming

growth factor (TGF)-, and interferon- production by myelin basic protein–

specific peripheral blood mononuclear cells were studied using enzyme-linked

immunospot (ELISPOT). FoxP3 and Smad7 expression were studied by

reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.

Results: During a 4.6-year follow-up period, parasite-infected MS patients

showed a significantly lower number of exacerbations, minimal variation in

disability scores, as well as fewer magnetic resonance imaging changes when

compared with uninfected MS patients. Furthermore, myelin basic

protein–specific responses in peripheral blood showed a significant increase in

IL-10 and TGF- & #1113088; and a decrease in IL-12 and

interferon- & #1113089;–secreting

cells in infected MS patients compared with noninfected patients. Myelin basic

protein–specific T cells cloned from infected subjects were

characterized by the absence of IL-2 and IL-4 production, but high IL-10 and/or

TGF- secretion, showing a cytokine profile similar to the T-cell

subsets Tr1 and Th3. Moreover, cloning frequency of CD4+CD25+ FoxP3+ T cells was

substantially increased in infected patients compared with

uninfected MS subjects. Finally, Smad7 messenger RNA was not detected in T cells

from infected MS patients secreting TGF- & #1113088;.

Interpretation: Increased production of IL-10 and TGF- & #1113088;, together with

induction of CD25 & #1113090;CD4 & #1113090; FoxP3 & #1113090; T cells, suggests that

regulatory T cells

induced during parasite infections can alter the course of MS.

Wow --according to their

theory, you should have been the last

person on earth to get MS!!! My sister & I also grew up in the

country, so that should have left us out as well.