An epidemic of absence : a new way of understanding allergies and autoimmune diseases /

*Starred Review* Why, after science conquered such contagious diseases as typhoid and tuberculosis, are humans experiencing an alarming upsurge of debilitating allergies and life-threatening autoimmune disorders? Science journalist Velasquez-Manoff asks, What are scientists and doctors missing? Why are industrialized countries suddenly so plagued? He found the answer by checking with some of the thousands of professionals and amateurs looking into this pressing question worldwide. The conclusion: collectively, we've taken the war against germs, all those worms, bugs, and parasites that Pasteur nailed as mankind's curse in our milk, our surgeries, and our nurseries, to its worst possible extreme. We may now be suffering the dismal consequences of hypercleanliness that is, the elimination of beneficial, indeed essential, microbes, hence an epidemic of absence. He found that the notion that we need more dirt, more organisms, in our lives is gaining ground, so to speak, in the scientific community. Velasquez-Manoff's engaging global study examines the boons and risks associated with the hypothesis that more parasites might prevent and possibly cure many illnesses, ranging from diabetes to depression. If you read one book about friendly parasites this season, let this be the one.--Chavez, Donna Copyright 2010 Booklist

We've spent generations cleaning up the bad organisms that once burrowed inside the human gut-but may want to put some of them back, writes science journalist Velasquez-Manoff in this ambitious survey of how evolution and ecology affect our biology and health. Allergies, asthma, type-1 diabetes, psoriasis, lupus, and celiac diseases have all become more frequent in the past 30,000 years while our exposure to parasites and microbes that normally take up residence in the gut has plummeted. But these organisms, far from being harmful, actually contribute to an ecological balance in our bodies that also balances the immune system. Velasquez-Manoff, who suffers from eczema, alopecia, and asthma, investigates the "hookworm underground" to score a supply to abate his own storm of autoimmune maladies-with queasy, mixed results. But there are more positive returns for others, including a 21-year-old woman suffering from Crohn's disease who believes that whipworms saved her life. Velasquez-Manoff also investigates how microbes prevent allergic diseases and may even play a role in autism. If the parasite cure seems hard to swallow, the message is not: medicine will have to take account of patients' inner and outer ecology if we're ever to unravel the cause and treatment of disease. Agent: Kristine Dahl, ICM. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

The prevalence of allergies and autoimmune diseases has increased dramatically in the developed world over the past 150 years, and freelance science journalist Velasquez-Manoff finds that greater access to clean water, improved sanitation, vaccines, and antibiotics may be a factor. Before the Industrial Revolution, people were exposed to a wide variety of bacteria and parasites. Immune system cells were kept in balance by the useful bacteria, but when modern improvements eliminated many of these pathogens, the immune system turned against the body's own cells, and this has led to conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, and eczema. Some scientists think that the human ecosystem needs to be restored to rebalance the body. The evidence for this is based on observational studies, epidemiological associations, and animal experiments without consideration of factors such as diet, genetics, and other variables. Nevertheless, some people, including the author, have undergone a controversial therapy, deliberately infecting themselves with parasitic worms in the hope of curing disease. -VERDICT The author's objective review of the data, paired with accounts of his own experiences, offers insight into the role of the gut in the immune response and provides a fascinating look at a growing area of medical research. A perceptive look at modern science.-Barbara M. Bibel, Oakland P.L. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

More on the hygiene hypothesis by a science writer who has searched the literature, traveled the world and interviewed scores of scientists who attribute a rise in allergies, autoimmune disease, asthma and many other disorders in our sanitized societies to an imbalance in our immune systems. Velasquez-Manoff writes that, until the Industrial Revolution, the human body was host to a rich microbiota of bacteria, viruses, parasites and pests. From birth, the immune system learned to respond to these fellow travelers by attacking deadly pathogens, collaborating with useful flora (such as bacteria that help digest food) and tolerating parasites like intestinal worms. With the rise of modernity came the movement from farms to cities, where smaller families are served by clean water and sewer systems. Then came antibiotics, deworming medicine, processed foods, etc.--the whole panoply of life in the developed world. Left without our "old friends," the parasites in our guts, we now have an immune system that has turned against the body's own cells, causing an increase in irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, eczema and a slew of other diseases that are on the rise, such as autism, diabetes, some cancers, heart disease and dementia. The problem is that the evidence to confirm the immune connection is largely based on observational studies, epidemiological associations or animal experiments, to which must be added the role of diet, genetic factors and other variables. Nonetheless, desperate patients have chosen to self-medicate with intestinal worms, including the author. To his credit, he carefully reviews this undisciplined field and reveals his own experience. The massive data he presents, the insights into the role of the gut as orchestrator of immune responses, and the revelations coming from the completion of the Human Microbiome Project should spur much-needed research in the field. Velasquez-Manoff concludes with a discussion of the clinical trials in the works to test worms in treating multiple sclerosis, autism, peanut allergies and other maladies. A solid, up-to-date report on a growing area of scientific research.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.