Helminthic therapy and multiple sclerosis (MS)

    From Helminthic Therapy wiki

    Research findings[edit | edit source]

    • 2020 Jun 18 Hookworm trial offers new hope to MS patients. In 2020, researchers at Nottingham University reported the results of a randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled trial in which patients with RRMS were experimentally colonised by NA, and in which half of the treated patients did not develop any new lesions during the nine-month trial period. The conclusion published in their formal report by the authors of this study that NA appeared to be ineffective against MS was based on the fact that the particular statistical endpoint determined for the trial by its designers had not been reached. [1] This conclusion is a glaring example of the endemic failure within the mainstream medical research community to understand, and accommodate, the unique requirements of living organisms when they are being trialled as a therapy. To read more about this, see, Problems with clinical trials using live helminths.
    • ✅ 2020 Jun 15 Hookworm Treatment for Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized Double-Blinded Placebo-Controlled Trial -- Full text. Editorial from Jama Neurology : Keep the Worms in the Mud. (While the primary statistical endpoint of this trial - the cumulative number of new/enlarging T2 and new enhancing T1 lesions at month 9 - was not significantly different between the hookworm group (154) and the placebo group (164), a closer examination of the data reveals that more than half the patients given hookworms did not have any new lesions. “The findings of the research… show that infecting MS patients with a safe dose of… Necator americanus induces immunoregulatory responses and boosts the number of cells which help keep the immune system under control.” [2] The trial’s lead researcher concluded, “I think there would be a niche for this approach - for individuals with mild disease who don't want to take immunomodulating drugs for life and would prefer a more natural approach.” [3])
    • 2011 Jun Probiotic helminth administration in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: a phase 1 study -- Full text | PDF (TSO). Treatment: Five subjects with newly diagnosed, treatment-naive relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) were given 2500 TSO orally every 2 weeks for 3 months in a baseline versus treatment control exploratory trial. Results: The mean number of new gadolinium-enhancing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) lesions (n-Gd+) fell from 6.6 at baseline to 2.0 at the end of TSO administration (NB HINT2[9] and [10] - was done with a version of TSO at pH 5.0, which is known to be less effective than the TSO product at pH 2.4 that is commercially available and was used in Weinstock's early trials.)
    • 2007 Feb Association between parasite infection and immune responses in multiple sclerosis -- PDF (Also reported by Science Daily [13] and the BBC. [14]). In 2007, Correale and Farez demonstrated that patients with multiple sclerosis who were accidentally colonised by one or more of a variety of helminths experienced a reduced number of disease exacerbations compared with patients who were helminth-free. This was the first study to explore the effect of helminth infection on immune response and the natural course of Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis. It showed that MS progressed much more slowly in patients who hosted intestinal worms.

    Ongoing research projects :

    For more research on helminths and MS, use the search function on your device (Control+F on a PC, Command+F on a Mac or 'Find in page' in the drop-down menu from the three dots icon on a mobile) to search the following page for references to “multiple sclerosis” (rather than “MS”).

    Comments by researchers[edit | edit source]

    Quotein.gif
    In developed countries, where we are well nourished, worms are potentially good. If I had Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis or multiple sclerosis, I would infect myself without hesitation.” (Prof Alex Loukas, Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine) [15]

    For more comments by researchers about helminthic therapy in general, see the following list.

    The anecdotal evidence[edit | edit source]

    To read the experience of those who have adopted helminths to treat MS, see the following section of the Helminthic Therapy Personal Stories page.

    Reporting your own experience[edit | edit source]

    To report your personal experience of using helminthic therapy to treat MS, please use our bespoke reporting tool.

    Best helminth species to treat MS[edit | edit source]

    In 2015, Cheng et al, reported that:

    Quotein.gif
    NA is extremely effective at treating relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, with a success rate exceeding 90%. The success rate for treating progressive multiple sclerosis is less, at about 50% (source: provider interview).

    This study found a couple of individuals who had used HDC to treat MS. One of them reported a 40% success rate using HDC alone, while the other reported 100% success by combining HDC with NA. Seven NA users with RRMS all reported a 100% success rate, as did someone who combined TSO with NA.

    The MS personal stories reported in this wiki are almost exclusively from NA hosts (see, Helminthic therapy personal stories: MS), so NA is clearly the go-to species for MS. For details of how to use NA, see Self-treating with NA.

    Further reading[edit | edit source]

    Given that helminthic therapy can take a while to begin producing benefits (up to 2 years in the case of NA [16]), it can help to have alternative treatment options to turn to while waiting for the worms to begin to work. The following document contains a wide range of alternative, mostly science-based, natural approaches.

    The reintroduction to the digestive tract of a controlled number of specially domesticated, mutualistic helminths (intestinal worms) in the form of microscopic eggs or larvae to reconstitute a depleted biome to treat or prevent chronic inflammation, autoimmune disease and other immune-related disorders, including allergy.

    Multiple sclerosis (also known as disseminated sclerosis) is a chronic, typically progressive disease involving damage to the sheaths of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, whose symptoms may include numbness, impairment of speech and of muscular coordination, blurred vision and severe fatigue.

    The specific population of microorganisms living in a certain part of the body, such as the gut. "Microbiome" refers to all the microorganisms living in and on the body, or the genome of these microorganisms. These two terms are often used interchangeably.

    Symbiosis is a close, long-term relationship between organisms of different species. Helminths are obligatory symbionts because they depend entirely on their host for survival, and they are also ectosymbionts because they live on their host’s body surface, albeit the inner surface of the digestive tract. The species used in helminthic therapy are also mutualists.

    An intestinal worm which grows large enough to be seen with the naked eye when mature but which is microscopic when administered in helminthic therapy. Wikipedia:Helminths

    the human hookworm, Necator americanus

    A helminth that lives in the small intestine. Necator americanus (NA) is the only hookworm species used in helminthic therapy. Its microscopic larvae are applied periodically to the skin.

    A helminth that lives in the small intestine. Necator americanus (NA) is the only hookworm species used in helminthic therapy. Its microscopic larvae are applied periodically to the skin.

    The species of human hookworm used in helminthic therapy. Its microscopic larvae are applied periodically to the skin.

    the ova (eggs) of the porcine (pig) whipworm, Trichuris suis

    a change which is a result or consequence of an action or other cause.

    the ability to produce a desired or intended result.

    An intestinal worm which grows large enough to be seen with the naked eye when mature but which is microscopic when administered in helminthic therapy. Wikipedia:Helminths

    Helminth-Induced Immunomodulation Therapy. This term was adopted by researchers investigating the effects of TSO in patients with MS. [17]

    Ulcerative colitis (Colitis ulcerosa, UC) is a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) which specifically affects the large intestine, or colon, causing characteristic ulcers, or open sores. The main symptom of active disease is constant diarrhea mixed with blood, of gradual onset.

    The reintroduction to the digestive tract of a controlled number of specially domesticated, mutualistic helminths (intestinal worms) in the form of microscopic eggs or larvae to reconstitute a depleted biome to treat or prevent chronic inflammation, autoimmune disease and other immune-related disorders, including allergy.

    The reintroduction to the digestive tract of a controlled number of specially domesticated, mutualistic helminths (intestinal worms) in the form of microscopic eggs or larvae to reconstitute a depleted biome to treat or prevent chronic inflammation, autoimmune disease and other immune-related disorders, including allergy.

    Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids (Hi-men-o-lep'is dim-a-nu-ta sis-ti-sur-koid) - the larval cysts of the rat tapeworm, Hymenolepis diminuta

    Retrieved from "https://htwiki.mywikis.eu/w139/index.php?title=Helminthic_therapy_and_multiple_sclerosis_(MS)&oldid=18399"