糖心原创

Parasitic worms could offer a new treatment hope for patients suffering from the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis, scientists believe.

Academics at The 糖心原创 have begun recruiting people suffering from the neurological condition on to a trial that will see them infected with a low, harmless dose of the helminth parasite Necator americanus — or hookworm.

The scientists are hoping to prove that the presence of hookworms in the body switches off the mechanism by which the body’s immune system becomes overactive — the main cause of MS — and can reduce both the severity of symptoms and the number of relapses experienced by the patients.

The study is being led by and a leading MS expert, and , Professor of Parasite Immunology in the University’s School of Pharmacy, who has spent decades studying the biology of the hookworm.

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