Scientists to use hookworms in tests to control symptoms of MS

PATIENTS with multiple sclerosis could be treated with parasitic worms, University of Nottingham scientists have revealed.

They have begun recruiting people with the neurological condition for a trial that will see them infected with a low, harmless dose of hookworm.

Scientists are hoping the presence of hookworms in the body will switch off the mechanism by which the body’s immune system becomes overactive, the main cause of MS.

The study is being led by Professor Cris Constantinescu, of the school of clinical sciences, and David Pritchard, professor of parasite immunology.

Mr Pritchard said: “This study appears counter-intuitive — we are introducing a parasite which is by definition harmful, to act as a stimulus to moderate disease.

“As a safeguard the hookworms are being used in carefully-controlled and monitored conditions, and if successful could herald a much-needed therapy for MS patients.

“Currently, there are many MS patients for whom conventional medicines are ineffective or are associated with unwanted side effects.

“Hookworms have an innate ability to moderate the immune system to allow them to survive in the body for years. This moderation may have a bystander effect on the progression of MS.”

The study team is in the process of recruiting more than 70 patients from Nottingham and Derby with the most common type of the disease, relapsing remitting MS, in which symptoms such as vision problems, dizziness and fatigue appear and then fade away, either partly or completely.