Worm may keep asthma at bay
2005-09-07 07:50
Dublin - Irish researchers have identified a possible new strategy for preventing or treating asthma using parasitic worms, a scientific conference was told on Tuesday.
Padraic Fallon, a senior lecturer in biochemistry at Trinity College Dublin, said his research group had already succeeded in curing asthma in laboratory mice using a live worm.
"This is the first time a human parasite has experimentally blocked asthma from occurring," he told the British Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Dublin.
He said the reasons for the dramatic recent increase in allergic diseases in developed countries are complex and involve many factors.
"There is evidence to suggest that a major factor in the sudden increase in allergies is the reduction in parasitic worms, and bacterial or viral infections, in modern 'clean' societies."
Fallon, noting studies that have shown that people in developing countries suffer less from allergies, said the layperson is often told: "If your kids play in dirt they will not get asthma."
In Gabon it was found that schoolchildren infected with worms had lower allergic responses to house dust mites than children with no worms.
After the children had their worms removed by drugs they developed increased allergic responses.