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A Dose of Worms, Please (multiple sclerosis head's up!)
ScienceNOW Daily News ^ | 17 January 2007 | Dan Ferber

Posted on 01/20/2007 9:56:21 PM PST by neverdem

A prolonged bout of intestinal parasites seems to slow the decline of patients with multiple sclerosis, according to a study released today. The results suggest that immune-modulating molecules from parasites could be developed into drugs to ease autoimmune diseases, and that by conquering parasite infections, modern medicine may have inadvertently increased our vulnerability to these illnesses.

Autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) occur far more often in developed countries than in developing countries. And parasitic infections, which have been beaten down in the United States, are still common in South America and elsewhere in the developing world, says neuroimmunologist Jorge Correale of the Raúl Carrea Institute for Neurological Research in Buenos Aires, Argentina. What's more, studies have shown that infecting mice with parasites eased symptoms of an MS-like syndrome.

To see if the parasite-autoimmune link held up in humans, Correale and his colleague Maurício Farez identified 12 MS patients with high levels of parasite-fighting white blood cells called eosinophils and then confirmed parasite infections by examining stool samples under the microscope. They tracked those patients and equal numbers of uninfected MS patients and healthy people for 4 and a half years. In MS, the immune system attacks the insulating myelin sheath of nerves, disrupting the transmission of messages. Infected patients as a group suffered just three instances of new or worsening symptoms, compared with 56 in the uninfected patients. As measured by a standard neurological test, the degree of disability increased in 11 of the 12 uninfected patients, but in only two of the 12 infected individuals.

Next, the team measured white blood cells and immune-signaling chemicals called cytokines from each patient to understand how the invaders changed the immune system. Parasite infections induced much higher levels of three types of immune cells called regulatory T cells, the researchers report in January 2007 issue of Annals of Neurology. They propose that while fighting the parasite infection, these three types of cells also happen to dial down a different arm of the immune system that attacks myelin to cause multiple sclerosis. By finding the immune-signaling molecules responsible, it may one day be possible to identify parasite molecules that deactivate the immune system arm that causes autoimmune attacks, Correale says.

"It's a provocative study, and it would be interesting to do this in a larger number of individuals," says immunologist David Hafler of Harvard Medical School. If the results hold up, he says, it would underscore the emerging consensus that "an idle immune system is probably not good."

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TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: eosinophilia; intestinalparasites; medicine; ms; multiplesclerosis
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To: lkco

If they can't get it, ask someone with access to a medical library, e.g. a doc with hospital privileges.


21 posted on 01/21/2007 1:40:21 AM PST by neverdem (May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows that you're dead.)
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To: neverdem

Parasites can be found in abundance in blue states.


22 posted on 01/21/2007 1:45:15 AM PST by Stallone (War and Politics: When the Enemy begins to feel pain, they change their behavior to avoid it.)
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To: ImaTexan

ping


23 posted on 01/21/2007 1:48:19 AM PST by bjcintennessee (Don't Sweat the Small Stuff)
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To: neverdem

Interesting as it meshes with bee venom therapy for MS. The same thing happens with a slowing of the progression of the disease and bee venom also kicks up the immune system. In essence, both treatments are counterintuitive, sine it would seem that you would want to suppress the immune system, not kick it up with an auto-immune disease.


24 posted on 01/21/2007 3:35:27 AM PST by KeyWest (Help stamp out taglines!)
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To: neverdem

My wife has MS and I let her read this. I hope it leads to a treatment.

Okay, part of me was trying to gross her out, too.


25 posted on 01/21/2007 6:01:38 AM PST by Puddleglum
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To: neverdem

very grateful to be on your ping list


26 posted on 01/21/2007 6:25:43 AM PST by 1234 (WHO is Responsible for ENFORCING IMMIGRATION LAWS?)
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To: neverdem
Rather than using parasites to reduce inflammation, one should consider eating lots of Omega-3s while reducing Omega-6s.
27 posted on 01/21/2007 7:35:06 AM PST by ConservativeMind
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To: neverdem; 2ndClassCitizen; balls; Born Conservative; cva66snipe; dawn53; Deut28; Draco; dredhawk; ..

MS Ping!

Please FReepmail me if you would like to be added to, or removed from, the Multiple Sclerosis ping list...

28 posted on 01/21/2007 8:41:54 AM PST by cgk (I don't see myself as a conservative. I see myself as a religious, right-wing, wacko extremist.)
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To: Incorrigible; rdb3

Thanks for the pings! I haven't read this yet, as I'd like some time to *REALLY* process what it's saying, but already I'm kind of --- hmm... uhm... ewwww!


29 posted on 01/21/2007 8:43:29 AM PST by cgk (I don't see myself as a conservative. I see myself as a religious, right-wing, wacko extremist.)
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To: neverdem; xsmommy; Gabz; WhyisaTexasgirlinPA; secret garden; tioga; theDentist
Yet today's nanny-state (mothers and power-hungry politicians/bureaucrats/day-care regulators and schools) are DEMANDING an ever-increasing level of sanitation: Anti-bacterial soaps will be working AGAINST the long-term health of the kids.
30 posted on 01/21/2007 8:55:40 AM PST by Robert A Cook PE (I can only donate monthly, but Hillary's ABBCNNBCBS continue to lie every day!)
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To: Chewbacca; All
I sent the article link to my sister who has MS.

Better yet, send her the link to www.marshallprotocol.com. There's a cure waiting. It worked for my sarcoid, and is being used for several MS patients by Dr Doug Blaney.

31 posted on 01/21/2007 8:56:12 AM PST by slowhandluke (It's hard work to be cynical enough in this age)
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To: Puddleglum
My wife has MS and I let her read this. I hope it leads to a treatment.

Point her to www.marshallprotocol.com. There's a cure waiting. It worked for my sarcoid, and is being used for several MS patients by Dr Doug Blaney. I'm sure Dr Blaney is willing to discuss current progress with your doc.

32 posted on 01/21/2007 8:59:11 AM PST by slowhandluke (It's hard work to be cynical enough in this age)
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To: Robert A. Cook, PE; neverdem

I totally agree, Rob't. Clean is one thing, total sanitization of everything is something else.

My ex-husband passed away last year because of complications of MS. The man was an absolute fanatic when it came to cleaning....he bleached EVERTYHING.


33 posted on 01/21/2007 9:21:09 AM PST by Gabz (I like mine with lettuce and tomato, heinz57 and french-fried potatoes)
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To: neverdem

I've recently been diagnosed with RRMS... thanks so much for the information/links.


34 posted on 01/21/2007 9:45:35 AM PST by Sweet_Sunflower29 (Interferon Beta 1-b is my new best friend. <><)
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To: neverdem

bttt


35 posted on 01/21/2007 10:16:40 AM PST by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly.)
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To: neverdem

Thanks for the ping. I read the article a few days ago. Somebody had posted it on an MS forum. I have a sister who lives in Central America. Maybe I she visit her in hopes of picking up a parasite!


36 posted on 01/21/2007 11:04:43 AM PST by dawn53
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To: Puddleglum

My wife has MS, I never realized how much she meant to me until she was diagnosed. I now cherish every day we have.


37 posted on 01/21/2007 11:14:33 AM PST by 2ndClassCitizen
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To: ConservativeMind

Any basis for this recommendation? references?


38 posted on 01/21/2007 11:24:32 AM PST by 2ndClassCitizen
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To: slowhandluke

I had sarcoidosis when I was twenty five. It went away on its own. I did take 100 times the minimum daily requirement for vitamin c for several months (lots of water also).


39 posted on 01/21/2007 11:26:56 AM PST by 2ndClassCitizen
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To: dawn53

This reminds me of a kid I knew who was allergic to beestings. He wanted to get out of being drafted and sent to Vietnam. He got a bee just before going to the doctor and held it in his hand until it stung him. It really hurt, but he no longer had an allergy.

I think this study and so many others offer real hope. We are going to beat MS, just got to keep optimistic.


40 posted on 01/21/2007 11:30:05 AM PST by 2ndClassCitizen
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