Early infection with Trichuris trichiura and allergen skin test reactivity in later childhood

Abstract

Early heavy infections with T. trichiura may protect against the development of allergen skin test reactivity in later childhood. Novel treatments to program immune-regulation in early childhood in a way that mimics the effects of early infections with T. trichiura may offer new strategies for the prevention of allergic disease.

Chronic Intestinal Helminth Infections Are Associated with Immune Hyporesponsiveness and Induction of a Regulatory Network

“…This study was conducted in the city of Salvador in northeastern Brazil, which has a population of 2.5 million. The prevalence of wheezing in this city in the past 12 months in school children aged 12 to 13 years was reported to be very high (27.1%) (29). The design of this study has been reported elsewhere (6,13,29).…”

“…Exposure to pathogens and their products, and to helminths in particular, has been shown to protect against the development of autoimmune and allergic diseases in experimental animal models (7,8,10,23,25,26,28), and some evidence in support of this has been observed in human populations (3,8,10,23,29,30,31).…”

“…The prevalence of wheezing in this city in the past 12 months in school children aged 12 to 13 years was reported to be very high (27.1%) (29). The design of this study has been reported elsewhere (6,13,29). In short, the study population included 1,445 children recruited in infancy for a prospective study measuring the impact of a citywide sanitation program on childhood morbidity (5).…”

Parasitic Helminths as Potential Therapeutic Agents Against Autoimmune Disorders

“…2) However, parasitic helminths do not always suppress clinical allergies and can sometimes worsen allergic symptoms. Regarding the timing of helminth infections, a study in Brazil is especially noteworthy (Rodrigues et al, 2008). In the study, heavy infections with T. trichiura in early childhood were shown to reduce reactivity to allergens in later childhood.…”

Suggestive association between variants in IL1RAPL and asthma symptoms in Latin American children

“…As described in previous publications, [21][22][23] Social Changes, Asthma and Allergy in Latin America (SCAALA) is a research program conducted in Brazil and Ecuador. The Brazilian component comprised a cohort of 1307 (705 males) unrelated children between 4 and 11 years old.…”