Parasitic worm eggs may hold the key to treating inflammatory conditions such as lung diseases and psoriasis, Irish researchers say.
Focusing on the worm schistosoma mansoni, which infects humans, scientists at Trinity College in Dublin found it releases a molecule with strong anti-inflammatory qualities particularly effective against acute inflammations.
The study, which could lead to new treatments, is published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.
Researcher Padraic Fallon called the study “particularly exciting as it harnesses how the worm modifies immunity in our bodies to stimulate protection from undesirable inflammation.
“There is a clear potential to build new treatments for major disease of man using this approach,” he added. “In effect I see the worm as the ‘drug cabinet’ of the future.”
Schistosome worms infect over 250 million people in tropical countries.