SoylentNews

Gaaark [soylentnews.org] writes:

From the "Let's all jump in the hot tub" dept.

A study has revealed that two novel – and somewhat unusual – therapies may help treat symptoms in individuals with autism involving using hot tubs to raise body temperature – and the other involves the ingesting of parasitic worms.
There’s been considerable evidence recently suggesting that inflammation may play an important role in mediating neuropsychiatric symptoms.
Growing evidence suggests that the condition may be a result of an overactive immune system – which results in high levels of inflammation.
This theory is supported by the fact that about a third of autistic individuals show clinical improvement when they have a fever or are placed in a hot environment such as a hot tub at 102 degrees Fahrenheit.

In the second part of the study, the researchers examined the effects of treating 10 high-functioning autistic adults with Trichuris suis ova (TSO) – the eggs of the worm helminth trichura (whip worm). Research has shown that worms learn to survive in humans by dampening the body’s inflammatory responses.
“What we found was when they were on the worm, there was an improvement in three different scales that measured rigidity, flexibility or insistence on sameness,†Hollander said.

Their findings http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/12/12/how-parasitic-worms-and-hot-tubs-may-treat-autism-symptoms/ [foxnews.com] still need to be replicated.

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Original Submission