Hookworms and Autoimmune Disorders

More evidence that infection with intestinal parasites can help people with immune system problems:

Early research at University of Iowa showed that exposing mice to parasitic worms helped prevent inflammatory bowel disease. Additional studies demonstrated that the therapy could protect the mice from colitis, encephalitis, Type 1 diabetes, and asthma. . . . Human trials have been much more limited. Two small groups of adults — one whose members had colitis, and the other made up of those with Crohn’s disease — experienced reduced symptoms after being treated with whipworm for multiple weeks by University of Iowa researchers.

I foresee a time, not too many years from now, when we will infect ourselves with genetically modified hookworms or whipworms to limit our problems with autoimmune disorders.

More broadly, it is a good illustration of the Principle of the Mean that it is bad for our bodies to be too well protected from infections and parasites.