Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is the most common and serious chronic inflammatory condition of the gut. Among the distinct T helper (Th) cell subsets, a Th1 type response is associated predominantly with Crohn's disease (CD) while helminth infections generate a strong Th2 type response. IBD is most prevalent in developed countries but rare in countries where infections with helminths are com...

Infections with intestinal helminth and bacterial pathogens, such as enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, continue to be a major global health threat for children. To test the hypothesis that intestinal helminth infection may be a risk factor for enteric bacterial infection, a murine model was established by using the intestinal helminth Heligomosomoides polygyrus. To analyze the modulatory effec...

A programme periodically distributing anthelminthic drugs to school-aged children for the control of soiltransmitted helminthiasis was launched in Zanzibar in the early 1990s. We investigated the spatial distribution of soiltransmitted helminth infections, including Strongyloides stercoralis, in 336 children from six districts in Unguja, Zanzibar, in 2007. One stool sample per child was examine...

BACKGROUND Plasmodium and soil transmitted helminth infections (STH) are a major public health problem, particularly among children. There are conflicting findings on potential association between these two parasites. This study investigated the Plasmodium and helminth co-infections among children aged 2 months to 9 years living in Bagamoyo district, coastal region of Tanzania. METHODS A comm...

present research was for study on parasitic infections of domestic ruminants in golestan province. 234 samples of the gastrointestinal tracts contents, 260 livers, 180 lungs, 350 hearts and muscles, 300 abdominal cavities and 100 eyes for infection to helminthes, 800 blood samples for protozoa and external coats of 700 animals were examined for arthropoda. results showed that 19.74% of sheep ga...

BACKGROUND Helminth infections and allergies are associated with TH2 responses. Whereas the development of TH2 responses and allergic disorders in pediatric populations has been examined in affluent countries, no or little data exist from low income regions of the world. The aim of this study is to examine factors influencing the development of TH2 responses of children born in areas endemic fo...

BACKGROUND Insulin resistance is a strong predictor of the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Chronic helminth infections might protect against insulin resistance via a caloric restriction state and indirectly via T-helper-2 polarization of the immune system. Therefore the elimination of helminths might remove this beneficial effect on insulin resistance. METHODS/DESIGN To determine whe...

BACKGROUND Given that helminth infections are thought to have strong immunomodulatory activity, the question whether helminth infections might affect responses to malaria antigens needs to be addressed. Different cross-sectional studies using diverse methodologies have reported that helminth infections might either exacerbate or reduce the severity of malaria attacks. The same discrepancies hav...

BACKGROUND Helminth infections are among the most prevalent neglected tropical diseases, causing an enormous impact in global health and the socioeconomic growth of developing countries. In this context, the study of helminth biology, with emphasis on host-parasite interactions, appears as a promising approach for developing new tools to prevent and control these infections. METHODS/PRINCIPAL...

Leading hypotheses to explain helminth-mediated protection against autoimmunity postulate that type 2 or regulatory immune responses induced by helminth infections in the host limit pathogenic Th1-driven autoimmune responses. We tested these hypotheses by investigating whether infection with the filarial nematode Litomosoides sigmodontis prevents diabetes onset in IL-4-deficient NOD mice and wh...