Helminthic therapy and allergy
Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, are various conditions caused by hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment.
All forms of allergy can respond well to helminthic therapy.
The scientific evidence[edit | edit source]
See also
- 2025 Aug 12 Anisakis simplex excretion/secretion antigens abolish the anaphylactic response in allergic mice -- Full text
- 2025 May 26 Therapeutic potentials of Trichinella spiralis in immune disorders: From allergy to autoimmunity -- Full text | PDF
- 2024 Oct 30 Protective effect of Schistosoma mansoni infection and/or soluble egg antigen on allergic reaction in male mice
- 2024 Aug 26 S. mansoni -derived omega-1 prevents OVA-specific allergic airway inflammation via hampering of cDC2 migration -- Full text | PDF
- 2024 Mar 22 Association between helminth infection and allergic disorders among children in Batu, Ethiopia -- Full text | PDF
- 2024 Immunomodulatory effect of hemozoin from Opisthorchis felineus and its participation in reducing allergic inflammation through activation of the inflammasome
- 2023 Nov 28 Immunosuppressive ability of Trichinella spiralis adults can ameliorate type 2 inflammation in a murine allergy model
- 2022 Jun 27 Suppression of airway allergic eosinophilia by Hp-TGM, a helminth mimic of TGF-β
- 2022 Apr 5 Ascarosides from helminths pack a punch against allergy -- Full text | PDF
- 2022 Feb 25 Effect of Echinococcus granulosus hydatid cyst fluid protein on allergic rhinitis induced by ovalbumin in mice (chinese)
- 2021 Sep 22 Infection-exposure in infancy is associated with reduced allergy-related disease in later childhood in a Ugandan cohort -- Full text | PDF
- 2021 Aug 3 Mycobacterium-Induced Th1, Helminths-Induced Th2 Cells and the Potential Vaccine Candidates for Allergic Asthma: Imitation of Natural Infection -- Full text | PDF
- 2021 Jun 10 Hookworm treatment induces a decrease of suppressive regulatory T cell associated with a Th2 inflammatory response -- Full text Allergic sensitisation increased following treatment with albendazole
- 2021 Apr 22 Immunoprotective inference of experimental chronic Trichinella spiralis infection on house dust mites induced allergic airway remodeling
- 2021 Mar 1 Understanding Asthma and Allergies by the Lens of Biodiversity and Epigenetic Changes -- Full text | PDF
- 2020 Oct 7 Helminth Induced Immunoregulation and Novel Therapeutic Avenue of Allergy -- Full text | PDF
- 2020 Sept 11 What Can Parasites Tell Us About the Pathogenesis and Treatment of Asthma and Allergic Diseases -- Full text | PDF
- 2020 Sep Preconception helminth infection alters offspring microbiota and immune subsets in a mouse model -- Full text | PDF
- 2020 May 19 The Gastrointestinal Helminth Heligmosomoides bakeri Suppresses Inflammation in a Model of Contact Hypersensitivity -- Full text | PDF
- 2020 Helminth Therapy: A New Tool for Treatment of Allergic Diseases book chapter
- 2019 Sept 27 Ascaris lumbricoides Cystatin Prevents Development of Allergic Airway Inflammation in a Mouse Model -- Full text | PDF (But also see the details here regarding the potentially adverse effects of infection with ascaris lumbricoides.)
- 2019 Sept 9 Schistosoma japonicum peptide SJMHE1 suppresses airway inflammation of allergic asthma in mice -- Full text | PDF
- 2019 Aug 9 Critical roles of regulatory B and T cells in helminth parasite-induced protection against allergic airway inflammation
- 2019 Jun 28 Preventive and therapeutic effects of Trichinella spiralis adult extracts on allergic inflammation in an experimental asthma mouse model -- Full text
- 2019 Apr 17 Cytokine production in allergic and Trichuris trichiura-infected children from an urban region of the Brazilian northeast (TTO
- 2018 Sep 19 Soil-transmitted helminth parasites and allergy: observations from Ecuador
- 2018 Sep 14 Parasites and allergy: observations from Africa
- 2018 Aug 14 Isolated Schistosoma mansoni eggs prevent allergic airway inflammation (Allergic asthma)
- 2018 Jul 25 Worms: Pernicious Parasites or Allies Against Allergies? (review)
- 2018 May 28 Helminth-induced regulatory T cells and suppression of allergic responses
- 2017 Nov 24 Schistosoma mansoni-specific immune responses and allergy in Uganda
- 2017 Nov 7 Parasite-Derived Proteins for the Treatment of Allergies and Autoimmune Diseases -- Full text | PDF
- 2017 Nov Global issues in allergy and immunology: Parasitic infections and allergy
- 2017 Aug 16 Secreted products of Fasciola hepatica inhibit the induction of T cell responses that mediate allergy
- 2017 Jul Opisthorchis felineus negatively associates with skin test reactivity in Russia-EuroPrevall-International Cooperation study -- Full text
- 2017 Jun 14 Schistosoma japonicum infection downregulates house dust mite-induced allergic airway inflammation in mice -- Full text | PDF (Asthma)
- 2017 Apr 27 Immune responses to fungal aeroallergen in Heligmosomoides polygyrus infected-mice vary by age
- 2017 Apr 3 Schistosome-induced pulmonary B cells inhibit allergic airway inflammation and display a reduced Th2-driving function
- 2017 Mar 8 Chronic schistosomiasis during pregnancy epigenetically reprograms T cell differentiation in offspring of infected mothers (Allergy)
- 2017 Feb 21 Microbiome, autoimmunity, allergy, and helminth infection: The importance of the pregnancy period
- 2016 Oct-Dec Anti-inflammatory Potentials of Excretory/Secretory (ES) and Somatic Products of Marshallagia marshalli on Allergic Airway Inflammation in BALB/c Mice -- Full text | PDF
- 2016 Role in Allergic Diseases of Immunological Cross-Reactivity between Allergens and Homologues of Parasite Proteins
- 2016 May 9 Parasitic helminth infections and the control of human allergic and autoimmune disorders
- 2016 Apr 7 Cellular gene expression induced by parasite antigens and allergens in neonates from parasite-infected mothers
- 2016 Jan 11 The Role of Helminth Infection and Environment in the Development of Allergy: A Prospective Study of Newly-Arrived Ethiopian Immigrants in Israel -- Full text
- 2015 Dec 7 Low-Dose Intestinal Trichuris muris Infection Alters the Lung Immune Microenvironment and Can Suppress Allergic Airway Inflammation -- Full text | PDF
- 2015 Oct 27 The Intestinal Microbiota Contributes to the Ability of Helminths to Modulate Allergic Inflammation -- Full text | PDF
- 2015 Oct 1 Ten Weeks of Infection with a Tissue-Invasive Helminth Protects against Local Immune Complex-Mediated Inflammation, but Not Cutaneous Type I Hypersensitivity, in Previously Sensitized Mice -- Full text | PDF
- 2015 Sept 23 Helminth infections, socio-economic status and allergies in Indonesia (Thesis)
- 2015 Aug The Role of Adoptive Transfer of Immune Cells in Helminth- induced Regulation of Allergy and Autoimmune Diseases
- 2015 Jul The allergy epidemics: 1870-2010 -- Full text | PDF This historical analysis of the allergy epidemic highlights the role of helminth control as one of the explanations for the trends from 1870 to 2010.
- 2015 May 31 Secretory Products of Trichinella spiralis Muscle Larvae and Immunomodulation: Implication for Autoimmune Diseases, Allergies, and Malignancies -- Full text | PDF
- 2015 Apr Exosome-transported microRNAs of helminth origin: new tools for allergic and autoimmune diseases therapy?
- 2015 Feb 15 A novel regulatory macrophage induced by a helminth molecule protects against mucosal inflammation and mitigates allergic airway inflammation and colitis in mice
- 2015 Feb Worms as therapeutic agents for allergy and asthma: understanding why benefits in animal studies have not translated into clinical success -- Full text | PDF
- 2015 Feb Potential Treatments for Food Allergy
- 2014 Dec In utero priming by worms protects against respiratory allergies
- 2014 Dec Maternal immune response to helminth infection during pregnancy determines offspring susceptibility to allergic airway inflammation
- 2014 Nov 19 Effects of helminth co-infections on atopy, asthma and cytokine production in children living in a poor urban area in Latin America -- Full text | PDF
- 2014 Nov Therapeutic potential of larval excretory/secretory proteins of the pig whipworm Trichuris suis in allergic disease (TSO)
- 2014 Oct Allergy and worms: let's bring back old friends
- 2014 Sept Blockade of IL-33 release and suppression of type 2 innate lymphoid cell responses by helminth secreted products in airway allergy -- Full text | PDF
- 2014 Aug 28 Parasitic infection and immunomodulation: A possible explanation for the hygiene hypothesis in autoimmune and allergic disease -- Full text
- 2014 Aug 26 The "hygiene hypothesis" for allergic disease is a misnomer (No abstract)
- 2014 May 1 Chronic helminth infection protects mice from type III hypersensitivity (HYP6P.277)
- 2014 May Parasitic worms and allergies in childhood: insights from population studies 2008-2013
- 2014 Feb 14 Helminth Allergens, Parasite-Specific IgE, and Its Protective Role in Human Immunity -- Full text | PDF
- 2013 Aug 15 Schistosoma mansoni-mediated suppression of allergic airway inflammation requires patency and Foxp3+ Treg cells -- Full text | PDF
- 2013 Mar A nematode immunomodulator suppresses grass pollen-specific allergic responses by controlling excessive Th2 inflammation
- 2013 Jan Evolutionary biology and anthropology suggest biome reconstitution as a necessary approach toward dealing with immune disorders -- Full text | PDF This paper explains how the modern pandemics of autoimmune, inflammatory and allergic disease are due to the loss of species, especially helminths, from the human ecosystem.
- 2013 Jan Protection against allergic airway inflammation during the chronic and acute phases of Trichinella spiralis infection
- 2012 Sept 21 Advances in immunotherapy for food allergy -- Full text Yamini Virkud and Brian Vickery, Discovery Magazine
- 2012 Jul Trichuris suis ova: testing a helminth-based therapy as an extension of the hygiene hypothesis -- PDF (TSO)
- 2012 Apr 18 Helminth therapy (worms) for allergic rhinitis -- PDF
- 2012 Apr Parasitic worm therapy for allergy: is this incongruous or avant-garde medicine?
- 2012 Mar Schistosoma mansoni antigens as modulators of the allergic inflammatory response in asthma
- 2012 Asthma and allergic disease: their relation with Necator americanus and other helminth infections Johanna Feary, PhD Thesis -- PDF (NA)
- 2011 Oct Regulatory B-cell induction by helminths: implications for allergic disease
- 2011 Oct Reconstitution of the human biome as the most reasonable solution for epidemics of allergic and autoimmune diseases | PDF
- 2011 Feb Trichinella spiralis: infection reduces airway allergic inflammation in mice
- 2010 Nov Long-term periodic anthelmintic treatments are associated with increased allergen skin reactivity -- Full text | PDF
- ⚡ 2010 Oct 13 Reconstituting the depleted biome to prevent immune disorders William Parker, Duke University. Explains why replacing absent "old friends" may be the only reasonable therapy for a wide range of immune-associated disorders, including allergy, autoimmunity and autism.
- 2010 Jun Helminth-induced CD19+CD23hi B cells modulate experimental allergic and autoimmune inflammation -- Full text | PDF
- 2010 May Schistosoma mansoni antigens modulate the allergic response in a murine model of ovalbumininduced airway inflammation -- Full text | PDF
- 2010 May Regulatory B cells prevent and reverse allergic airway inflammation via FoxP3-positive T regulatory cells in a murine model -- Full text
- 2010 Apr Immunomodulators of helminthes: Promising therapeutics for autoimmune disorders and allergic diseases -- Full text | PDF
- 2010 Mar Looking into the future of Trichuris suis therapy. Comment on a defective clinical trial Trichuris suis ova therapy for allergic rhinitis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial which use a bad pH 5.0 for TSO
- 2010 Jan Trichuris suis ova therapy for allergic rhinitis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial -- PDF (TSO). This trial employed a novel TSO formulation with a pH of 5, when it is known that storage of TSO at a pH above 4 may impede its therapeutic effect in humans. [1] The conclusions drawn by the authors of this study about the efficacy of TSO are therefore not reliable.
- 2010 Jan Reduced helminth burden increases allergen skin sensitization but not clinical allergy: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in Vietnam -- Full text
- 2010 Jan Regulation of type 1 diabetes, tuberculosis, and asthma by parasites -- Full text | PDF
- 2010 Jan Helminth infection inhibits airway allergic reaction and dendritic cells are involved in the modulation process -- Full text | PDF
- 2010 Jan Chronic helminth infections protect against allergic diseases by active regulatory processes -- Full text | PDF
- 2010 Food allergy prevalence in children of opisthorchiasis world region -- PDF (russian)
- 2009 Oct Survival of the fittest: allergology or parasitology?
- 2009 May Immune and genetic aspects of asthma, allergy and parasitic worm infections: evolutionary links -- Full text | PDF
- 2009 Feb Can helminths or helminth-derived products be used in humans to prevent or treat allergic diseases?
- 2009 Jan Do helminth parasites protect against atopy and allergic disease?
- 2009 Jan Schistosoma mansoni antigens modulate experimental allergic asthma in a murine model: a major role for CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ T cells independent of interleukin-10 -- Full text | PDF
- 2008 Nov Early infection with Trichuris trichiura and allergen skin test reactivity in later childhood (TTO)
- 2008 Oct Schistosoma japonicum infection modulates the development of allergen-induced airway inflammation in mice
- 2008 Sept Parasitic nematode modulation of allergic disease
- 2008 Mar 15 A helminth immunomodulator reduces allergic and inflammatory responses by induction of IL-10- producing macrophages -- Full text | PDF
- 2008 Feb 1 Helminth infection with Litomosoides sigmodontis induces regulatory T cells and inhibits allergic sensitization, airway inflammation, and hyperreactivity in a murine asthma model -- Full text | PDF
- 2008 Feb Association of atopy, asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis and intestinal helminth infections in Cuban children -- Full text
- 2007 Oct Protective effect of Schistosoma mansoni infection on allergic airway inflammation depends on the intensity and chronicity of infection
- 2007 Jun 13 Chronic helminth infections modulate allergen-specific immune responses: Protection against development of allergic disorders? -- Full text
- 2007 May Helminths, allergic disorders and IgE-mediated immune responses: where do we stand? -- Full text | PDF
- 2007 Feb 15 Helminth-derived products inhibit the development of allergic responses in mice
- 2006 Oct Worms and allergy -- Full text | PDF
- 2006 Aug Allergy controls the population density of Necator americanus in the small intestine (NA)
- 2006 Apr Environmental exposures, genetic predisposition and allergic diseases: one size never fits all -- Full text | PDF
- 2006 Apr Helminths can protect themselves against rejection inhibiting hostile respiratory allergy symptoms -- Full text | PDF
- 2006 Human allergy and geohelminth infections: a review of the literature and a proposed conceptual model to guide the investigation of possible causal associations -- Full text
- 2006 Geohelminth infections: impact on allergic diseases
- 2006 Glycans modulate immune responses in helminth infections and allergy
- 2006 Helminth-induced immunoregulation of an allergic response to food (food allergy)
- 2005 Nov 7 Suppression of allergic airway inflammation by helminth-induced regulatory T cells -- Full text | PDF
- 2004 Oct 13 Schistosoma mansoni infection modulates the immune response against allergic and auto-immune diseases -- Full text | PDF
- 2004 Jul The increased prevalence of allergy and the hygiene hypothesis: missing immune deviation, reduced immune suppression, or both? -- Full text | PDF
- 2004 Apr Helminth infection modulates the development of allergen-induced airway inflammation -- Full text | PDF
- 2004 Feb Regulation of allergy and autoimmunity in helminth infection
- 2004 Feb The innate allergenicity of helminth parasites
- 2004 Feb Helminth infections and allergic diseases: from the Th2 paradigm to regulatory networks
- 2002 Sept 19 The effect of infections on susceptibility to autoimmune and allergic diseases
- 2002 Sept 15 An enteric helminth infection protects against an allergic response to dietary antigen -- Full text | PDF
- 2002 Jun Can intestinal helminth infections (geohelminths) affect the development and expression of asthma and allergic disease? -- Full text | PDF
- 2002 Nov 28 Th2-responses and immunomodulation in helminth infections and allergy (thesis)
- 2002 Apr 19 Allergy, parasites, and the hygiene hypothesis
- 2001 Nov 3 Independent effects of intestinal parasite infection and domestic allergen exposure on risk of wheeze in Ethiopia: a nested case-control study
- 2001 Nov The prevalence of parasite infestation and house dust mite sensitization in Gabonese schoolchildren
- 2001 Jul Th2 responses without atopy: immunoregulation in chronic helminth infections and reduced allergic disease
- 2000 Nov 18 Decreased atopy in children infected with Schistosoma haematobium: a role for parasite-induced interleukin-10
- 1998 Mar 1 A helminth-induced mucosal Th2 response alters nonresponsiveness to oral administration of a soluble antigen
- 1997 The Pro-allergic Influences of Helminth Parasites (PDF)
- 1996 Aug IgE, allergies and helminth parasites: a new perspective on an old conundrum
- 1993 sept Effect of anthelmintic treatment on the allergic reactivity of children in a tropical slum -- PDF
- 1993 Jun Modulation of the allergic reactivity of slum children by helminthic infection
- 1989 Nov 18 Hay fever, hygiene, and household size -- Full text | PDF This paper linked exposure to pathogens whilst young to the development of allergic diseases, and was key to the development of the Hygiene Hypothesis.
- 1976 Sept 25 Letter: IgE, parasites, and allergy | PDF This letter reported the first known successful therapeutic use of the hookworm, Necator americanus, in this case to resolve hay fever. (NA)
- 1976 Aug Serum IgE levels in white and metis communities in Saskatchewan This paper's author suggested that atopic disease is the price paid by some members of the white community of northern Saskatchewan for their relative freedom from helminth infestation and viral and bacterial infection.
The anecdotal evidence[edit | edit source]
The allergy section of our personal stories page features over 60 reports from individuals who have used helminths to treat their allergies, the vast majority of whom have experenced remission. See: Helminthic therapy personal stories: Allergy.
Selecting a suitable helminth species to treat allergies[edit | edit source]
To identify the best helminth species to treat each type of allergy (contact, food, or seasonal/ environmental) see this list.
How to obtain and use these organisms, as well as what to expect from the treatment, is all explained in detail elswhere on this site. The best place to begin is here: Introduction to helminthic therapy.