1. lifelines
  2. Cure for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)?

Cure for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)?

By dr. dolittle on November 19, 2012.

The leading cause of morbidity in captive rhesus monkeys is a condition called idiopathic chronic diarrhea (ICD), a condition similar to the inflammatory disease ulcerative colitis in humans. Since parasitic worms have recently been used to treat inflammatory bowel diseases in humans, researchers Broadhurst et al., decided to try this therapy in infected monkeys. Young rhesus macaques were administered 1000 human whipworm eggs (Trichuris trichiura) orally (don't worry, they are microscopic). The results: 4 out of 5 of the treated monkeys had reduced diarrhea and began gaining weight.    

parasite whipworm egg colitis ibs

Whipworm egg imaged at 400X magnification. Wikimedia Commons/Joel Mills

Until now, it was not known how the worms improved gut health in humans. Researchers just knew that inflammatory bowel diseases were not as prevalent in areas of the world where these parasitic infections are common in people. The results of this study showed that the bacterial colony of the infected animals changed significantly following the treatment suggesting the worms help to restore the balance of gut microbes. Broadhurst et al., speculate that the eggs stimulate extra mucus production and renewal of epithelial cells lining the digestive tract. They also discovered decreased expression of genes involved in inflammation suggesting the presence of fewer inflammatory bacteria.

Source:

Broadhurst MJ, Ardeshir A, Kanwar B, Mirpuri J, Gundra UM, Leung JM, Wiens KE, Vujkovic-Cvijin I, Kim CC, Yarovinsky F, Lerche NW, McCune JM, Loke P. Therapeutic Helminth Infection of Macaques with Idiopathic Chronic Diarrhea Alters the Inflammatory Signature and Mucosal Microbiota of the Colon. PLoS Pathogens. 8(11): e1003000. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1003000

Tags
Life Science
inflammatory bowel disease
monkey
ulcerative colitis

More like this

Whipworm parasite reduces symptoms of autism
Image from www.Nematode.net.Credit: http://www.latech.edu/ans/faculty-staff/liberatos-james-d/parasite-pict… Believe it or not, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in collaboration with Coronado Biosciences are intentionally infecting people who have autism with whipworms from pigs…
Why are some urinary tract infections chronic?
Chronic infection is, in a way, the new emerging infectious disease. Many pathogens are relatively tenacious when they infect elderly individuals or individuals who are otherwise not fully immunocompetent, and such individuals are, thanks to modern medical technology and practice, more common in…
Safer fecal bacteriotherapy
On an academic level, I am not a fan of bacteria. I like viruses. Thus, I usually like the idea of using viruses to kill bacteria. But I am a huge fan of fecal bacteriotherapy, aka, poop transplants. Someone is sick, they get antibiotics. Antibiotics kill off their 'normal' bacteria, and allow 'bad…
Saturday Review: Oral Vaccines
Last week, I talked about strategies to improve vaccine efficacy and safety. Most of those strategies were in the context of standard, inject-into-your-arm vaccines, but what about totally new delivery methods? This week, there was a review in PLoS Pathogens of strategies for generating vaccines…

oh no. Bad news a comin' . People will be self medicating with parasites.

The gut microbiome can be altered positively or negatively in several ways. The references below use a probiotic to influence the course of inflammatory bowel disease and symptoms of diarrhea, gas, etc. in humans. It may well work for these other primates, too.

Effects of a proprietary Bacillus coagulans preparation on symptoms of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome.
Dolin BJ.
Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol. 2009 Dec;31(10):655-9.
PMID: 20140275 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

A Prospective, Randomized, Double–blind, Placebo–controlled Parallel–group Dual Site Trial To Evaluate The Effects Of A Bacillus Coagulans–based Product On Functional Intestinal Gas Symptoms
BMC Gastroenterology, 2009, 9:85
Douglas S Kalman*1, Howard I Schwartz1, Patricia Alvarez2, Samantha Feldman1, John C Pezzullo1 and Diane R Krieger1

Bacillus Coagulans Significantly Improved Abdominal Pain And Bloating In Patients With IBS
Postgraduate Medicine, 2009; 121(2): 119–124
Larysa Hun