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.