Is Crohns disease on the rise because weve eliminated hookworm infections?
Crohn’s disease is a painful immune disorder that causes people’s intestines to swell. Some researchers say that the intestines of Crohn sufferers reject the bacteria normally needed for proper functioning. The prescribed treatments have horrible side effects, including cancer and brain infections. Some people with Crohn’s are electing to be infected with parasitic hookworms instead. In order to live as a parasite inside the human, the parasite must convince the host’s immune system to chill and not try to reject it. With hookworms, they secrete a chemical that distracts the immune system, dampening down its response. Hookworms are common in undeveloped countries, places where inflammatory bowel disease is rare. In the United States, thanks to advances in modern sanitation techniques, hookworms are rare but immune disorders on the rise. Is there a connection? There could be. “As we have made things more hygienic,” Dr. Terdiman explained, “we may in fact be precipitating an outbreak or
