Worms Can Protect against Obesity, Metabolic Disorders

Having roundworms in the gut can protect people from gaining weight and developing other metabolic disorders, according to a new study.

Until the 20^th century, everyone in the world had these worms in the body. Now, the incidence of worms has gone down in the developed countries, and these regions are seeing a rise of autoimmune diseases and allergies. Previous research has explored the changes in metabolism in humans in response to an infection by gastrointestinal nematode. These worms currently infect about 2 billion people in the world and kill many people in the developing countries.

In the present study, researchers tried to find whether or not these worms affected obesity. The study was conducted on mice that were fed a high-fat diet.

Research results showed that mice that had been infected with the worms gained 15 percent less weight than the uninfected mice. Also, obese mice that were infected lost 13 percent of their body weight within 10 days.

Infection was also associated with a decrease in blood glucose levels and fat levels in the liver.

The infected mice also had better regulation of hormones that are associated with breaking down sugar in the body. Researchers said that the regulation of hormones "was associated with a parasite-induced reduction in glucose absorption in the intestine, reduced liver triglycerides, and an increase in the population of cells called "alternatively activated macrophages," which regulate glucose metabolism and inflammation," said Joe Urban of the United States Department of Agriculture and co-author of the study.

One of the reasons for the changes in the mice's growth involved "a protein called interleukin-13 and related intracellular signaling mechanisms. This suggests that there are immune related shifts in metabolism that can alter expression of obesity and related metabolic syndrome," Urban added, according to a news release.

Obesity can raise the risk of chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, arthritis and even some cancers. According to estimates by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a third of all people living in the U.S. are obese.

The study is published in the journal Infection and Immunity and can be read here.

Other studies have shown that disappearance of the bad bacteria Helicobacter pylori was associated with rising rates of obesity and metabolic disorders in the world.