A New Scientific Paper Describes The Latest In Technological Advances And Clinical Hurdles Related To Potentially Beneficial Intestinal Worms

The paper, published by William Parker of WPLab and other coauthors, explores options on bringing back beneficial intestinal worms.

DURHAM, N.C., Oct. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A new paper describing ongoing scientific work related to potentially beneficial intestinal worm has been published in F1000Research (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42894548/). It was listed last week on PubMed, the database of scientific research for the National Institutes of Health.

Intestinal worms have long been classified as parasites. But a half century of scientific evidence tells us that many of these worms, called helminths, have benefits. By modulating immune function, worms can keep allergies, autoimmune disease, and even depression away from their human hosts. And, while some worms can be very painful and unpleasant, others live in humans without causing significant problems.

During the 1900s, as humans in Western society used hygiene to rid themselves of deadly waterborne diseases, intestinal worms were also lost.

"We've known about many of the benefits of intestinal worms for more than half a century, and scientists have been trying to bring back the friendly intestinal worm for at least 25 years now," states William Parker, head of the research team that studied beneficial worms at Duke University and a coauthor of the new study. 

Parker explains his own work: "More than a decade ago, we found thousands of people around the world using domesticated (cultivated) intestinal worms to treat their immune problems, and were especially surprised to see apparent benefits for depression (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27240605/). That was a new finding. We are still especially excited about the possibilities for postpartum depression."

The basic scientific principles underlying the benefits of intestinal worms are understood. The question is, why (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29133248/) haven't beneficial intestinal worms been used to treat the average patient suffering from seasonal allergies? Or postpartum depression?

"We need clinical trials," explains Parker. Without those trials, medicine can't take advantage of what the worms might have to offer.

The new work by Parker and colleagues highlights two of the main problems in running those clinical trials.

First, naturally occurring intestinal worms cannot be patented. Without a patent to protect "intellectual property," it's very difficult to raise tens of millions of dollars to run clinical trials.

Second, to work around the problem of unpatentable worms, companies have been running clinical trials, but keeping their methods secret. Such trade secrets can work the same as a patent, incentivizing a company to invest.

"The problem with trade secrets," explains Parker, "is that we don't know how people got the results they published." The latest work by Parker and colleagues outlines a shocking lack of transparency in published clinical trials using worms.

The paper also describes a "worm washing machine" in detail. That worm washer could be used to remove bacteria and get worms cleaned up for storage and clinical use. But more work is still needed. As Parker explains, "The washing machine we developed uses a 'touch free' process that prevents contact with any hard surface, which is about as gentle as we can make it. We know that it doesn't kill the worms, but we don't know if the cleaning process might somehow affect the worm's ability to modulate immune function. And we don't yet know the best way to store the worms after cleaning. Those issues are yet to be addressed."

William Parker, PhD studied immune function at Duke University for more than 27 years. Among the 16 coauthors are three scientists from the pharmaceutical industry, two academic scientists, two leaders in the commercial development of helminth therapy, as well as other professionals and students from Duke University.

Media Contact

Chanmolis Mout
Phone: 5402067392
Email: [email protected]
Website: WPLab

SOURCE WPLab