Hookworms And
Allergies - Doctor Infects Himself For Experiment. Amazing story! This is really personalized treatment
because not everyone dares to repeat it!
Logan was interested in the experiment
because research suggests, a hookworm infection can cure or alleviate symptoms
of allergies like bowel disease and food allergies. It is thought the worms
release compounds that reduce the over-reactions in the immune system that
cause the allergies.
He allowed himself to be infected because
he himself suffers from a long-standing food allergy that means he cannot eat
bread without feeling very ill.
He also wanted to demonstrate, using new
state of the art imaging for the first time ever, how the worms get into the
body.
The experiment was designed with the help
of Dr Quentin Bickle, Reader in Parasite Immunology at LSHTM.
Using state of the art imaging cameras, the
team watched the exact moment when the hookworm entered Logan's skin and made
their way into his arm.
It took about two months for the parasites,
travelling through his bloodstream, to reach his heart and lungs.
From the lungs, through being coughed up
into the throat and then swallowed, the hookworms entered Logan's intestines
where they matured into the adult stage and caused visible damage and
inflammation that was recorded by the pill camera that he swallowed.
Tests showed Logan also had higher levels
of eosinophils, a type of white blood cell the immune system produces in
response to worm infection.
Although the infection gave him some pain,
Logan said for the first time in years, he was able to eat bread without
feeling ill.
At the end of the 60-day experiment, Logan
removed his "guests" with the help of the anti-worming drug
albendazole.
What about
quality of life during this experiment?
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