Can parasites slow down the natural ageing process and at the same time reduce age-related inflammatory complaints?
Members of King’s College London got to the bottom of this very question. We would like to tell you what they discovered in the following.
Many of the diseases that afflict us in old age have something to do with inflammation. For this reason, a new term was developed in English with the neologism inflammaging, which expresses the manifestation in a meaningful way (inflammation = inflammation and aging = aging). In our article on silent inflammation we have already reported on many connections that can be associated with chronic diseases of civilisation.
How are parasites, of all things, supposed to help us?
The authors of the publication assume that many of these diseases are associated with changed hygienic conditions, so that our intestinal flora has changed as a result. In particular, parasites, which are also found in the intestines of indigenous peoples and in inhabitants of underdeveloped regions, have attracted the researcers’ attention because the inflammatory diseases of old age were not found in these.
Researchers’ attention has focused in particular on the worms that are found in the intestine. In this context, these are referred to as old friends. The absence of these parasites, which have an anti-inflammatory effect, is called dysbiosis in technical jargon. This refers to an imbalance of the intestinal flora.
Is there any solid evidence for this theory yet?
Of course, the researchers also know that you can’t just give us live worms, so they looked for what processes in our bodies the worms actually influence. In the process, they came across ES-62, a glycoprotein that occurs naturally in a worm. These are very large molecules that consist of proteins and sugars. They have already tested the effects of ES-62 in some animal models. What came out of that was pretty amazing:
- In mice, CS-62 was shown to improve health in old age in addition to extending lifespan.
- Es-62 helped to better seal the intestinal wall through improved intestinal flora.
- In particular, many inflammation-triggering factors are stored in the deeper-lying fat known as visceral fat. Visceral fat stores immune cells (monocytes, B and T lymphocytes, mast cells, neutrophil granulocytes and senescent cells).
To explain: monocytes are a group of white blood cells, the precursors of phagocytes/macrophages; B and T lymphocytes are the well-known antibodies we heard so much about in the pandemic; mast cells are also defence cells; neutrophil granylozytes belong to the white blood cells and also fight pathogens; senescent cells can no longer divide.
These cells together form a destructive cocktail of pro-inflammatory molecules in fat. It is hypothesised that the parasites reduce accumulated fat and obesity and thus have an anti-inflammatory effect. This is supported by studies in underdeveloped regions in India and Africa on the emergence of type 2 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.
And what does that mean for us exactly?
In their conclusion, the researchers write the following:
It goes without saying that improvements in hygiene and elimination of helminth parasites have been of incalculable benefit to humanity. But a cost coupled with this benefit is abnormalities of immune function, specifically inflammatory hyperfunction. Available evidence suggests that restorative helminth therapies are effective against not only allergic and autoimmune inflammatory disorders, but also age-associated inflammation in later life, at least to some extent. Should this be confirmed, helminth therapy could provide protection against the wide spectrum of age-related diseases promoted by inflammaging. In the wake of successes during the last century in eliminating the evils of helminth infections, the time now seems propitious to explore further their possible benefits, particularly for our aging population – strange though this may sound.
Thoughts at the end
The extent to which the composition of the microbiome influences the diseases of civilisation is hotly debated today. In particular, the composition of the intestinal flora with bacteria and parasites plays a prominent role.
However, we must not forget that, conversely, many diseases are only newly associated with pathogens (bacteria and viruses). For example, there have recently been many very general symptoms associated with tick-borne transmission. The chameleons among bacteria, the Borrelia, are in particular focus. But co-infections with other bacteria and viruses are also suspected.
So both are probably true: our immune system is wrongly triggered by a wrong composition of our microbiome and the absence of old friends. At the same time, in diseases like fatigue, Alzheimer’s, MS and many other neurological diseases, there is strong evidence that unknown pathogens are chronically active and thus produce inflammation. But more on that in another article.
If you are interested in the topic in more detail, we have linked the essay for you here: https://elifesciences.org/articles/65180