
Patients On Hookworm Therapy Swear By Treatment - ph0rque
http://cbs5.com/health/hookworm.treatment.therapy.2.1016319.html
======
joshwa
A study of the use of porcine whipworm eggs to treat Crohn's resulted in my
all-time favorite headline:

"Diet of worms can cure bowel disease"

[http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn4852-diet-of-worms-
can...](http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn4852-diet-of-worms-can-cure-
bowel-disease.html)

(for those who don't remember their AP Euro:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_of_Worms> )

study link: <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15591509>

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r7000
You might not be able to tell from this particular article but this is being
seriously studied:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helminthic_therapy>

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17123987>

<http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2004/may/052104worms.html>

I believe they use worms that cannot permanently "infest" hosts.. they have to
be reintroduced on a regular schedule.

------
coglethorpe
"Scots said he experienced some itching where the band aid was, which he
understood, was the larvae making their way into the blood stream.

What happens next is the hookworms then travel from the blood stream into the
lungs, where once there, causes the patient to naturally cough. Patients then
cough the microscopic helminthes up into the throat, then swallow them, and
this is how hookworms get to the intestines, where they latch on, and they
begin to mature."

That was actually kind of cool to read. Parasites hack their way into our
bodies.

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jnorthrop
And in related anecdotal news...

Arthritis Patients Swear By New Laser Treatment
<http://www.thebostonchannel.com/health/4050529/detail.html>

The Weed that Cancer Patients Swear by [http://www.naturalbuy.com/the-weed-
that-cancer-patients-swea...](http://www.naturalbuy.com/the-weed-that-cancer-
patients-swear-by/)

Acupuncture popularity soars despite thin evidence
[http://www.santafenewmexican.com/HealthandScience/Acupunctur...](http://www.santafenewmexican.com/HealthandScience/Acupuncture
--popularity-soars-despite-thin-evidence)

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tptacek
Imagine that. People who have voluntarily infested themselves with parasites
are inclined to justify that decision to the press. I am shocked.

------
wozer
A Kuro5hin classic about the subject:
<http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2006/4/30/91945/8971>

