Crohn's Disease Parasite Treatment
2025-09-11
I was volunteering for the Folk Festival and was able to talk with another coordinator there. He has a sister that is studying parasite introduction to help treat Crohn's Disease. I've never heard of it before so here is my little bit of research :)
What is Crohn's Disease?
- According to Mayo Clinic, it is under the umbrella of "inflammatory bowel disease" that causes the intestines to swell. This can be incredibly uncomfortable and lead to stomach aches, diarrhea, fatigue and malnutrition. The inability to absorb nutrients through inflamed lining being a big danger.
- There have been over 200 genes that have showed up as being related to Crohn's disease but that's just a fancy way of saying they haven't pinpointed the cause yet.
- A paper by El Hadad et al., 2023 shows that they found 240 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) where there are mutations at single location sites through Whole Genome Linkage Analysis
- It's highly likely that these genes have been dragged into the analysis because they ended up lighting the rest of the signals on fire and there is too much noise to wade through it.
- In 2024, a new breakthrough found an enhancer that helps modulates these genes called ETS2. It is likely a regulatory issue with this enhancer and likely co-factors in the region that has led to hyperactive downstream proteins https://crohnsandcolitis.ca/News-Events/News-Releases/A-Breakthrough-for-IBD-Patients-Uncovering-the-Hid
- There is no known cure but can be managed
- Treatments can include decreasing the genes that are in overdrive through therapeutics like anti-NF, anti-integrins and steroids.
Parasite Treatment/Helminth Therapy
- How do parasites factor into this story?
- There seems to be two overarching theories for Crohn's Disease, one is genetically tied and is a predisposition while the other theory is that it is preventable with immune system development. The latter believe that there are not enough natural bacteria and parasites available for the human body so it gets bored and attacks itself in layman terms. The Hygiene Hypothesis is a prevalent theory because it seems to be much more common in America/Global North.
- Helminths are worms that are typically obligate parasites, meaning they live in their hosts for nutrients and are unable in an external environment. They are able to regulate the immune system of their host and inhibit inflammation to reduce the likelihood of their host expelling them.
- It's not a small number in some cases either, one study infected people with whipworm (Trichuris suis) through 500-7500 eggs and monitored them for 6+ months. Allegedly the patients had no problems with 7500 eggs besides anemia. Some people have shown positive effects from treatment but others have failed to be more significant than the placebo.
- Review paper by Cheruiyot et al., 2018 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6799527/
- One anecdote explains their treatment as 35 hookworms are applied to the arm with an arm wrap to let them dissolve the skin and enter into the body.
I think this is relevant because shortly before this, I had a friend who was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. It is an autoimmune disease that specifically causes inflammation and ulcers along the intestinal tract. It is genetic as his uncle has it but it is crazy how expensive treatment is. It is $4,000 a month for injections, or enroll into a clinical trial for free trial drugs.
Another anecdote is that I had a masseuse who had Crohn's Disease and she was able to feel better through taking courses of Chinese medicinal teas from TCM doctor.
Crohn's Disease is likely a complex illness that is masquerading under one banner. I am not surprised that different people have completely contrasting experiences with the biologics at play.
Biology #healthscience