A new study adds further evidence that intestinal worms can have a beneficial effect on Inflammatory Bowel Disease by showing that treatment with worm proteins reduces intestinal inflammation and normalizes disturbances in gastrointestinal motility in mice with induced colitis.
The ‘worm proteins’ were obtained by centrifugation of homogenized adult Schistosoma mansoni worms and their therapeutic effect appears to have been mediated by an immunological pathway involving Th1, Th17 and Treg cells.
The authors conclude that their results demonstrate that worm proteins influence intestinal inflammation and related symptoms during colitis, and may therefore provide an attractive option in the management of gastrointestinal inflammation in IBD patients.
Tags: Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Intestinal Worms, Schistosoma Mansoni, Th1, Th17, Treg, Ulcerative Colitis