A new study suggests that eating worms could possibly help manage autism behavior.
Autism is a developmental disorder typified by behavioral, communication, and social difficulties. It has been long studied yet still hard to make out. Actually, there have been many studies conducted yet all failed to fully establish its cause.
Although the disorder remains incurable, there are some treatments that may help manage autism.
It has been proven that early intervention is beneficial to a child’s development especially when combined with behavioral therapy which would allow the child with autism to learn how to walk, talk, and socialize. An appropriate diet that excludes hyper allergenic food to the patient may also be given to the child.
Furthermore, medications may help manage some of the signs and symptoms of autism like aggression, depression, high energy levels, and tantrums.
Though there are established ways to manage, medical practitioners are still not resting to find an innovative cure.
Doctors at Montefiore Medical Center in New York conducted a study that may possibly add to the treatment of the disorder – the use of parasitic intestinal worms known as whipworms (Trichuris suis).
Researchers recruited 10 well-functioning adults with autism to eat eggs of whipworms for 12 weeks. The participants ate approximately 2,500 eggs every couple of weeks.
After the study, they found that the participants were less likely to perform cyclic behavior and were more adaptive in shifting situations when on the whipworm egg treatment.
“We found these individuals had less discomfort associated with a deviation in their expectations,” Dr. Eric Hollander, director of the Autism and Obsessive Compulsive Spectrum Program at Montefiore Medical Center, told HealthDay. “They were less likely to have a temper tantrum or act out.”
“The whipworm doesn't reproduce in the gut, and it doesn't penetrate the intestines, so it doesn't cause illness in humans,” he explained.
Whipworms are considered safe for human consumption, Hollander noted. The gut eliminates the whipworms naturally every two weeks.
