Shout Out to Disruptive Woman Sharon Terry and DW Man of the Month Pat Terry
The following BuzzFeed News post was published on August 20th, 2016. In it, our very own Disruptive Woman Sharon Terry and Man of the Month Pat Terry, both receive some very special recognition. And we are very proud to share it here!
This Guy Swallowed Parasitic Worms On Purpose — Then Became A Published Scientist
Sean Ahrens, who has tried just about every treatment for Crohn’s disease, ingested parasitic worm eggs as a last resort — and just wrote about it for a prestigious medical journal.
posted on Aug. 20, 2016, at 10:06 a.m.
Stephanie M. Lee
BuzzFeed News Reporter
Sean Ahrens
Since Sean Ahrens was diagnosed at age 12 with Crohn’s disease, a largely mysterious and painful condition caused by inflammation of the gut, he’s tried all kinds of diets and drugs. But what he ingested on March 17, 2010, was extreme even for him: a shot glass of parasitic worm eggs.
The experiment came at a desperate time, when 23-year-old Ahrens’ medication had stopped working for no apparent reason. A few of his friends with Crohn’s were trying parasites, citing a theory that didn’t sound crazy — to him, anyway.
Although the causes of Crohn’s aren’t known, one likely contributing factor is that theimmune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells in the gut. “If we actually give the body something to fight against, like a parasite,” Ahrens told BuzzFeed News, “maybe it’ll stop fighting us and maybe it’ll start fighting the invader.”
It wasn...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
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