Protein Treatment Found for Hookworm
Posted on: Monday, 25 September 2006, 18:00 CDT
U.S. researchers have discovered a natural protein is highly effective at treating hookworm infections in laboratory animals.
The University of California-San Diego and Yale University scientists say the protein is produced by Bacillus thuringiensis -- a bacterium sprayed on crops by organic farmers to reduce insect damage.
The researchers say their discovery could pave the way for the development of more effective treatments for hookworm and other soil-transmitted nematode infections, which are a major global health problem in developing countries. Many of the nearly two billion people worldwide infected with such intestinal parasites are children, who are at particular risk for anemia, malnutrition and delayed growth.
The UCSD-Yale team found the protein, given orally to laboratory hamsters infected with hookworms, was as effective in eliminating the parasites, curing anemia and restoring weight gain in the hamsters as is mebendazole, a drug currently recommended to treat infections in humans.
The scientists also discovered the protein, called Cry5B, targets both larval stages and adult parasites, as well as impairing the excretion of eggs by female worms.
The study is detailed in this week's early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Source: United Press International
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