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Iron No Cure for Hookworms
Iron No Cure for Hookworms
Bumping Iron No Cure for Hookworms
2006-01-23
How do you treat an infection that robs the body of iron? The simplest
answer--with more iron--may not be the best, according to a new study.
Hookworm-infected animals fed moderate amounts of iron became sicker
and more anemic than those eating very little iron. The findings may
have implications for how physicians treat such infections in humans.
An estimated 740 million people are infected with hookworms, mainly in
tropical regions of the developing world. The worms usually enter the
body through the skin (often burrowing through the bare feet of
children playing in the dirt) and wriggle their way to the intestines.
There they latch on and begin sucking blood and nutrients. Untreated
infections can lead to stunted growth, learning difficulties,
malnutrition, and severe anemia. Many victims already have anemia to
begin with, however, due to low levels of iron in their diets or other
infections such as malaria.
To see whether being anemic increases the severity of hookworm
infections, researchers at the Yale University School of Medicine
infected hamsters with hookworm. During the infection, the animals were
placed on diets containing either standard or low levels of iron. To
the researchers' surprise, after 20 days, the hamsters on the standard
diet had nearly 10 times more worms in their intestines than the
low-iron hamsters. Hamsters on a diet with intermediate levels of iron
did even worse, the team reports in the January issue of Infection and
Immunity.
People with hookworm infections are often given iron supplements to
deal with their anemia, but this might be a mistake, says study author
and disease specialist Michael Cappello. He says the relationship of
iron levels and hookworm-infection intensity resembles a bell curve: At
very low and very high iron levels, the parasite doesn't do very well,
but it rages at intermediate levels. Cappello suspects that a high iron
level may poison hookworms, and that a low iron level prevents worms
from developing into their adult blood-sucking form. Boosting infected
people to moderate iron levels with supplements could put them in the
ideal range for hungry hookworms, he says.
Parasitologist and pediatrician Peter Hotez of George Washington
University in Washington, D.C., cautions against making too much of the
results in the severely iron-restricted hamsters, noting that low blood
iron is associated with devastating problems for children and pregnant
women. But he notes the study is in line with findings in humans that
suggest iron balance is crucial in warding off the worst effects of
hookworm infection.
© 2006 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Who loves ya.
Tom
Jesus Was A Vegetarian!
* jesuswasavegetarian.7h . com
Man Is A Herbivore!
* tinyurl . com /a3cc3
DEAD PEOPLE WALKING
* tinyurl . com /zk9fk
Bumping Iron No Cure for Hookworms
2006-01-23
How do you treat an infection that robs the body of iron? The simplest
answer--with more iron--may not be the best, according to a new study.
Hookworm-infected animals fed moderate amounts of iron became sicker
and more anemic than those eating very little iron. The findings may
have implications for how physicians treat such infections in humans.
An estimated 740 million people are infected with hookworms, mainly in
tropical regions of the developing world. The worms usually enter the
body through the skin (often burrowing through the bare feet of
children playing in the dirt) and wriggle their way to the intestines.
There they latch on and begin sucking blood and nutrients. Untreated
infections can lead to stunted growth, learning difficulties,
malnutrition, and severe anemia. Many victims already have anemia to
begin with, however, due to low levels of iron in their diets or other
infections such as malaria.
To see whether being anemic increases the severity of hookworm
infections, researchers at the Yale University School of Medicine
infected hamsters with hookworm. During the infection, the animals were
placed on diets containing either standard or low levels of iron. To
the researchers' surprise, after 20 days, the hamsters on the standard
diet had nearly 10 times more worms in their intestines than the
low-iron hamsters. Hamsters on a diet with intermediate levels of iron
did even worse, the team reports in the January issue of Infection and
Immunity.
People with hookworm infections are often given iron supplements to
deal with their anemia, but this might be a mistake, says study author
and disease specialist Michael Cappello. He says the relationship of
iron levels and hookworm-infection intensity resembles a bell curve: At
very low and very high iron levels, the parasite doesn't do very well,
but it rages at intermediate levels. Cappello suspects that a high iron
level may poison hookworms, and that a low iron level prevents worms
from developing into their adult blood-sucking form. Boosting infected
people to moderate iron levels with supplements could put them in the
ideal range for hungry hookworms, he says.
Parasitologist and pediatrician Peter Hotez of George Washington
University in Washington, D.C., cautions against making too much of the
results in the severely iron-restricted hamsters, noting that low blood
iron is associated with devastating problems for children and pregnant
women. But he notes the study is in line with findings in humans that
suggest iron balance is crucial in warding off the worst effects of
hookworm infection.
© 2006 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Who loves ya.
Tom
Jesus Was A Vegetarian!
* jesuswasavegetarian.7h . com
Man Is A Herbivore!
* tinyurl . com /a3cc3
DEAD PEOPLE WALKING
* tinyurl . com /zk9fk
Re: Iron No Cure for Hookworms
"iron levels and hookworm-infection intensity resembles a bell curve: At
very low and very high iron levels, the parasite doesn't do very well,
but it rages at intermediate levels. Cappello suspects that a high iron
level may poison hookworms, and that a low iron level prevents worms
from developing into their adult blood-sucking form. Boosting infected
people to moderate iron levels with supplements could put them in the
ideal range for hungry hookworms, he says."
Yes, yes, yes. This is exactly the minimal, optimal and maximal
biological process at work. A min level to have any result, an opt levl
for best outcomes and a max level where no increase in outcome and
negative outcomes start to occur. In this case it is about hookworm
using iron, if you want to kill the hookworm give the max dose of iron.
In many many of the iron studies cut and pasted the same thing occurs
but in reverse, the negative things happening with iron are only at max
toxic levels in humans as it is in hookworms. At low iron levels there
is another set of problems in humans.
So in the middle of the curve where most people reside the studies do
not apply and are irrelevant and don't support the "iron causes all
disease because people eat meat" notion.
"iron levels and hookworm-infection intensity resembles a bell curve: At
very low and very high iron levels, the parasite doesn't do very well,
but it rages at intermediate levels. Cappello suspects that a high iron
level may poison hookworms, and that a low iron level prevents worms
from developing into their adult blood-sucking form. Boosting infected
people to moderate iron levels with supplements could put them in the
ideal range for hungry hookworms, he says."
Yes, yes, yes. This is exactly the minimal, optimal and maximal
biological process at work. A min level to have any result, an opt levl
for best outcomes and a max level where no increase in outcome and
negative outcomes start to occur. In this case it is about hookworm
using iron, if you want to kill the hookworm give the max dose of iron.
In many many of the iron studies cut and pasted the same thing occurs
but in reverse, the negative things happening with iron are only at max
toxic levels in humans as it is in hookworms. At low iron levels there
is another set of problems in humans.
So in the middle of the curve where most people reside the studies do
not apply and are irrelevant and don't support the "iron causes all
disease because people eat meat" notion.
