Scientists to inject 40 Australians with hookworm larvae to treat coeliac disease

A medical doctor and a scientist from James Cook University will be injecting hookworm larvae on 40 Australians to study a revolutionary treatment for coeliac disease. The debilitating illness affects hundreds of thousands of Australians, and the study on hookworms may lead to a new pill to treat the disease.

Experts say that hookworms tend to secrete anti-inflammatory proteins that work against the disease. The current experiment is a follow-up to an initial study that has found hookworm effective against the said condition.

The earlier successful study found that patients were able to consume about a bowl of spaghetti, which, due to the disease, may cause diarrhea, cramps and vomiting. The patients did not experience any negative effect from the trial with hookworm larvae.

Patients who suffer from coeliac disease have an immune system that reacts abnormally to gluten, which is present in wheat and grains such as barley and rye and is commonly used in dough. Gluten intake could damage the small bowel of coeliac patients. One in every 70 Australians suffers from the disease.

In the new trial, the larvae will enter human intestines from the skin, and the patients will gradually add gluten in their diet. Researchers noted that hookworms are safe to enter the human body as it does not breed internally and will not multiply to dangerous numbers.

Dr Paul Giacomin, a scientist at JCU’s Cairns campus, said that they aim to understand the mechanism of how the parasites suppress the inflammatory response. The study will focus on different molecules, proteins and enzymes that the worms produce.

"We will see if any of these molecules alone, if they're included in a pill-based medication, might be able to mimic the immunoregulatory response of the worm, and therefore be a quite marketable, good therapeutic for restoring gluten tolerance," Giacomin told the ABC.

Symptoms of coeliac disease include gastrointestinal upsets and more severe conditions like fatigue, anaemia, unexplained weight loss or gain, bone or joint pains and swelling of the mouth or tongue.

Giacomin and his colleague, Dr John Croese, an adjunct professor at JCU and a gastroentologist at The Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane, have received over $860,000 of fund from the National Health and Medical Research Council to conduct the study.

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