Current Status of Parasitic Diseases

Wright, Willard H.

doi:10.2307/4589255

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…This decreased to less than 5% by the 1960s, with only 0.5% showing signs of recent infection (77). Hookworm infection was common in the southern U.S. the first quarter of the 20th century, but had declined substantially by the 1950s (78). In the late 1940s, at least 20% of randomly sampled children admitted to Charity Hospital of New Orleans harbored Trichocephalus trichiura (79).…”

Section: The Nature Of Helminthsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does the failure to acquire helminthic parasites predispose to Crohn's disease?

et al. 2000

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Two polarized patterns (Th1 and Th2) of cytokines regulate inflammatory responses. Each cytokine pattern inhibits production of the opposing pattern. Lymphocytes from inflamed intestine due to Crohn's disease secrete a Th1 pattern of cytokines. Crohn's disease is most prevalent in highly industrialized countries with temperate climates. It occurs rarely in tropical third world countries with poor sanitation. We propose that exposure to an environmental agent predisposes individuals to Crohn's disease. Parasitic worms (helminths) are common in tropical climates and in populations subject to crowding and poor sanitation. Children are most subject to helminthic colonization. Many helminths live within or migrate through the human gut where they interact with the mucosal immune system. The host mounts a mucosal response that includes Th2 cytokine production limiting helminthic colonization. Helminths and their eggs probably are the most potent stimulators of mucosal Th2 responses. The Th2 response provoked by parasitic worms can modulate immune reactions to unrelated parasitic, bacterial, and viral infections. Many people in developed countries now live in increasingly hygienic environments, avoiding exposure to helminths. Perhaps failure to acquire these parasites and experience mucosal Th2 conditioning predisposes to Crohn's disease, which is an overly active Th1 inflammation.

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Section: The Nature Of Helminthsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does the failure to acquire helminthic parasites predispose to Crohn's disease?

et al. 2000

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“…Indoor plumbing, flush toilets, cement sidewalks, and well‐regulated food industries conspire to prevent acquisition and transmission of helminths. In the United States, the prevalence of hookworm in Georgia schoolchildren dropped from 65% in the 1910s to less than 2% (mostly in recent immigrants) in the 1980s 1, 2 . Trichinosis, whipworm (Trichuris trichiura ) and pinworm ( Enterobius vermicularis ) infections show similar declines in prevalence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Helminth–host immunological interactions: prevention and control of immune‐mediated diseases

Elliott

Weinstock

2012

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

162

135

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Exposure to commensal and pathogenic organisms strongly influences our immune system. Exposure to helminths was frequent before humans constructed their current highly hygienic environment. Today, in highly industrialized countries, contact between humans and helminths is rare. Congruent with the decline in helminth infections is an increase in the prevalence of autoimmune and inflammatory disease. It is possible that exclusion of helminths from the environment has permitted the emergence of immune-mediated disease. We review the protective effects of helminths on expression of inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, and animal models of these and other inflammatory diseases. We also review the immune pathways altered by helminths that may afford protection from these illnesses. Helminth exposure tends to inhibit IFN-γ and IL-17 production, promote IL-4, IL-10, and TGF-β release, induce CD4+ T cell Foxp3 expression, and generate regulatory macrophages, dendritic cells, and B cells. Helminths enable protective pathways that may vary by specific species and disease model. Helminths or their products likely have therapeutic potential to control or prevent immune-mediated illness.

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“…There is evidence that humans were infected with helminths thousands of years ago, thus many species have lived in parallel, or possibly in symbiosis, for generations, with only the past century seeing a massive decrease in their infective rates in developed countries [11].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%