Pig Worm Concoction to Treat Bowel Disease
Tue Apr 6, 5:55 PM ET Add Science - Reuters to My Yahoo!
LONDON (Reuters) - It may sound revolting but scientists say
drinking a concoction containing thousands of pig worm eggs
could protect people against bowel disease.
Early trials of the beverage called TSO, which was
developed by the German company BioCure, were so
successful in patients suffering from inflammatory bowel
disease (IBD) that the firm hopes to begin selling the
product in Europe in May.
"A lot of researchers couldn't believe this treatment was
effective, but people are always skeptical when confronted
with new ideas," Joel Weinstock, of the University of Iowa
in the United States, told New Scientist magazine Tuesday.
He came up with the idea after noticing that a rise in cases
of IBD coincided with a drop in infections caused by
roundworms and human whipworms.
Weinstock also noted that IBD is rare in developing
countries where parasitic infections are more common.
When he tested it twice a month on 100 patients in the
United States with IBD, which includes ulcerative colitis
and Crohn's disease, symptoms such as abdominal pain,
bleeding and diarrhoea, disappeared.
Fifty percent of patients with ulcerative colitis and 70
percent of Crohn's disease sufferers went into remission.
"With these new impressive results, we can come out of the
closet," said Weinstock, who plans to present the findings
at a medical conference next month.
The scientists decided to use pig whipworms because they do
not survive long in the body. About half a billion people
are infected with human whipworm, according to the magazine.
"Weinstock's theory is that our immune systems have evolved
to cope with the presence of such parasites and can become
overactive without them," New Scientist explained.
BioCure's sister company, Biomonde, sells leeches and
maggots for treating wounds.