Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Sep 7, 2017; 23(33): 6009-6015
Published online Sep 7, 2017. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i33.6009
Helminths as an alternative therapy for intestinal diseases
Aytan Miranda Sipahi, Daniel Machado Baptista
Aytan Miranda Sipahi, Daniel Machado Baptista, LIM 07-Laboratory of Experimental Clinical Gastroenterology, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Clínicas Hospital of University of São Paulo-HCFMUSP and, School of Medicine at the University of São Paulo, São Paulo 04023-062, Brazil
Author contributions: Sipahi AM and Baptista DM contributed equally to this work.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Sipahi AM and Baptista DM declare no conflict of interest related to this publication.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Aytan Miranda Sipahi, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Chief of Group of Intestinal Diseases, LIM 07-Laboratory of Experimental Clinical Gastroenterology, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Clínicas Hospital of University of São Paulo-HCFMUSP and, School of Medicine at the University of São Paulo, São Paulo 04023-062, Brazil. aytansipahi@gmail.com
Fax: +55-11-999398691
Received: April 12, 2017
Peer-review started: May 8, 2017
First decision: June 7, 2017
Revised: July 5, 2017
Accepted: August 9, 2017
Article in press: August 8, 2017
Published online: September 7, 2017
Core Tip

Core tip: Inflammatory bowel disease and celiac disease are immune-mediated pathologies that remain a treatment challenge for gastroenterologists. Despite the recent introduction of novel therapies, notably biological agents and newer management strategies, there are still many patients who do not respond, or have a poor response to current treatments. Helminth therapy seems a promising pathway to newer drugs, because it has been proven to alter intestinal permeability, altering the host’s immune response to a Type 2 cytokine-mediated response in animal models and pre-clinical studies. This editorial aims to stimulate further research in this field, hoping for better care for our patients.