Document Detail


Parasitic worm therapy for allergy: Is this incongruous or avant-garde medicine?
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  22168433     Owner:  NLM     Status:  Publisher    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Helminth (worm) therapy has already been used in clinical trials associated with allergy. These were generally small scale, safety orientated trials of short duration, justified by epidemiological and experimental data indicating potentially beneficial immune modulation by some parasites. However, parasites by definition are disadvantageous to their hosts, and helminth infection in particular almost invariably induces an allergic phenotype, rendering this somewhat paradoxical therapeutic approach for allergy open to scrutiny. Is parasitic worm therapy for allergy incongruous medicine, or avant-garde medicine? In the present article, we assess the strength of evidence supporting the use of helminth therapy for allergy and critically appraise the trials already completed. Then, should this approach prove successful, we suggest strategies to improve the delivery of helminth therapy, and ways to discover immune response modifiers derived from worms.
Authors:
D I Pritchard; D G Blount; P Schmid-Grendelmeier; S J Till
Related Documents :
21762003 - Gestational diabetes mellitus: results from a survey of country prevalence and practices.
21729383 - Worm therapy: for or against?
2356373 - Referrals to specialists. an exploratory investigation of referrals by 13 general pract...
Publication Detail:
Type:  JOURNAL ARTICLE     Date:  2011-12-14
Journal Detail:
Title:  Clinical and experimental allergy : journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology     Volume:  -     ISSN:  1365-2222     ISO Abbreviation:  -     Publication Date:  2011 Dec 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2011-12-15     Completed Date:  -     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8906443     Medline TA:  Clin Exp Allergy     Country:  -    
Other Details:
Languages:  ENG     Pagination:  -     Citation Subset:  -    
Copyright Information:
© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Affiliation:
Immune Modulation Research Group, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Export Citation:
APA/MLA Format     Download EndNote     Download BibTex
MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


Previous Document:  Theoretical Examination of the Thermodynamic Factors in the Selective Extraction of Am(3+) from Eu(3...
Next Document:  Symbiosis specificity in the legume-rhizobial mutualism.