Gut parasites could reduce asthma symptoms
11 February 2009

Worms and gut parasites could hold the key to preventing or reducing asthma symptoms, according to researchers at Nottingham University.

While worms have been all but eliminated from humans in developed countries because of an increased emphasis on hygiene, experts believe the parasitic worms can actually stimulate patients’ immune systems to fight illnesses.

Scientists led by John Britton at Nottingham University are testing whether deliberately infecting people with asthma with hookworms, by placing them on the patient’s skin and allowing them to burrow their way into the body, can ease asthma symptoms.

They also believe the absence of worms could be one of the reasons why conditions such as asthma are more prevalent in developed countries and uncommon in countries with poor sanitation or hygiene.

Asthma UK is funding the same group of researchers in a similar study in Ethiopia. Professor Britton will study over 1,000 children born in urban and rural areas of Butajira in southern Ethiopia to see whether infection of the gut with either hook worms or other gut parasites protects against developing asthma later in life. It is hoped this research could provide a vital tool in understanding asthma.

Dr Elaine Vickers, Research Relations Manager at Asthma UK, said: ‘Asthma can develop at any age and it is incredibly difficult to discover exactly what causes it, or why it’s more common in some countries than others.

‘The link between hookworm infections and asthma is a fascinating one, and these studies led by Professor Britton should tell us more about how and why asthma develops. We hope the information he uncovers will also help us to identify ways to prevent asthma and to treat it more effectively in future.’