Helminth therapy consists of using small intestinal worms, called helminths, to treat autoimmune diseases, asthma, allergies, food intolerance, eczema, osteoarthritis, type 2 diabetes  and many inflammatory diseases.

The starting point is that autoimmune diseases are mostly found in industrialized countries where intestinal worms have been eradicated. The idea is that these worms have co-evolved to modulate our immune system to avoid being rejected by our body.

For more information:

• Wikipedia
• Helminthic Therapy Wiki (the reference site)
• Worm-inspired treatments inch toward the clinic (Amber Dance, Knowable Magazine, 2025)
• Infection with benefits: How playing host to hookworms could be good for you (Farah Hancock, Radio New Zealand, 2024)
• Why doctor working in New Zealand infected himself with hookworms (Sarah Wilson, The New Zealand Herald, 2022)
• We need worms (William Parker, Aeron, 2019)
• Supplements, worms and stool: How families are trying to game the gut to treat autism traits (Leah Shaffer, Spectrum, 2019)
• I’ve got parasitic worms living inside me, and it’s great (Adam Dudding, Sunday Star Times, 2016)
• Worm therapy: Why parasites may be good for you (Rachel Nuwer, BBC, 2013)
• Gut instinct: the miracle of the parasitic hookworm (Tim Adams, The Guardian, 2010)
• Autoimmune Worm Cure (Andy Newman, New York Times, 1999)

Few scientific papers:

• Gross ways to live long: Parasitic worms as an anti-inflammaging therapy? (Bruce Zhang, David Gems, eLife, 2021)
• Helminths’ therapeutic potential to treat intestinal barrier dysfunction (Thomas Mules and all, Allergy, 2023)
• Reevaluating Biota Alteration: Reframing Environmental Influences on Chronic Immune Disorders and Exploring Novel Therapeutic Opportunities (William Parker and all, Yale J Biol Med., 2024)

See also:

• Phage therapy
• Other biotherapies