# New powerhouse cure for GI tract and bowel diseases, but it's pretty umm... hardcore **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 7, 2004, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-powerhouse-cure-for-gi-tract-and-bowel-diseases-but-its-pretty-umm-hardcore/238829 "2004-04-07T21:44:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-powerhouse-cure-for-gi-tract-and-bowel-diseases-but-its-pretty-umm-hardcore/238829/1 "2004-04-07T21:44:49Z")
[Pig Worm Concoction to Treat Bowel Disease](http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/24619/story.htm) > [@](#): > > Early trials of the beverage called TSO, which was developed by the German company BioCure, were so successful in patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that the firm hopes to begin selling the product in Europe in May. > > “A lot of researchers couldn’t believe this treatment was effective, but people are always skeptical when confronted with new ideas,” Joel Weinstock, of the University of Iowa in the United States, told New Scientist magazine Tuesday. > > He came up with the idea after noticing that a rise in cases of IBD coincided with a drop in infections caused by roundworms and human whipworms. Weinstock also noted that IBD is rare in developing countries where parasitic infections are more common. > > When he tested it twice a month on 100 patients in the United States with IBD, which includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, symptoms such as abdominal pain, bleeding and diarrhoea, disappeared. Fifty percent of patients with ulcerative colitis and 70 percent of Crohn’s disease sufferers went into remission. > > “With these new impressive results, we can come out of the closet,” said Weinstock, who plans to present the findings at a medical conference next month. ---
**Author:** ![Mearl\_Dox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Mearl\_Dox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mearl_Dox)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-powerhouse-cure-for-gi-tract-and-bowel-diseases-but-its-pretty-umm-hardcore/238829/2 "2004-04-07T22:01:09Z")
As someone who’s had a lot of really nasty Crohn’s flareups in the last few years–WHOO HOO! If it’ll fix it, sign me right up for the pig worms! 😃 The current treatment I use, remicade, is made from rat hormones anyway. So, moving up in the world! ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-powerhouse-cure-for-gi-tract-and-bowel-diseases-but-its-pretty-umm-hardcore/238829/3 "2004-04-07T22:38:29Z")
Damn it. Between this thread and the one on Ford’s tasteless cat ad, I think I just failed a saving throw against lost sanity. I’ll admit, those results are impressive. I’ve been blessed with a healthy ringpiece and a good set of guts, so I don’t know how it feels. I’m all for anything that would cause relief from that kind of disease. But still: eeeeeeeeeeeeeeewww! ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2004, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-powerhouse-cure-for-gi-tract-and-bowel-diseases-but-its-pretty-umm-hardcore/238829/4 "2004-04-08T00:05:30Z")
What?! All those years, I overcooked my pork to kill the pig worms, and now they’re _good for me?_ Aaaaargg. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2004, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-powerhouse-cure-for-gi-tract-and-bowel-diseases-but-its-pretty-umm-hardcore/238829/5 "2004-04-08T00:30:08Z")
In _Futurama_, Fry’s body is infested with a civilization of sentient worms. The cure is to tickle Fry’s Splanknic Ganglion, thus creating a massive bowel movement. When asked about the worms in the rest of Fry’s body, Professor Farnsworth says > [@](#): > > This is going to be one hell of a bowel movement. He’ll be lucky to have any bones left. ---
**Author:** ![if6was9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2004, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-powerhouse-cure-for-gi-tract-and-bowel-diseases-but-its-pretty-umm-hardcore/238829/6 "2004-04-08T00:50:14Z")
> [@Tentacle Monster](#): > > \ > ringpiece I don’t know which has turned my stomach (no pun…) more tonight, this thread, the cat ad thread, or learning this colorful new word… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2004, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-powerhouse-cure-for-gi-tract-and-bowel-diseases-but-its-pretty-umm-hardcore/238829/7 "2004-04-08T00:50:19Z")
I’m sure my mother, who was inflicted with a particularly severe case of Crohn’s would have tried it in a heartbeat, but man… couldn’t they put that in pill or shot form? Do ya have to _drink_ it? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![emekthian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecae2f/32.png) [@emekthian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emekthian)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2004, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-powerhouse-cure-for-gi-tract-and-bowel-diseases-but-its-pretty-umm-hardcore/238829/8 "2004-04-08T06:56:27Z")
> [@](#): > > In Futurama, Fry’s body is infested with a civilization of sentient worms. > > The cure is to tickle Fry’s Splanknic Ganglion, thus creating a massive bowel movement. > > When asked about the worms in the rest of Fry’s body, Professor Farnsworth says > > Quote: > This is going to be one hell of a bowel movement. He’ll be lucky to have any bones left. Also in that very good episode, _Parasites Lost_, Fry got Leela to kiss him. If we can learn anything from animation, we can learn that sentient intestinal parasites are a good way to get girls. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2004, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-powerhouse-cure-for-gi-tract-and-bowel-diseases-but-its-pretty-umm-hardcore/238829/9 "2004-04-08T08:08:03Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > What?! All those years, I overcooked my pork to kill the pig worms, and now they’re _good for me?_ Aaaaargg. :rolleyes: Different type of worm. You cook pork all the way through to kill _Trichinella spiralis_. The pig whipworm is _Trichuras suis_. And that’s the extent of my googling talents this morning! I found that information in a [Salon.com](http://Salon.com) article called [Eating Germs](http://archive.salon.com/health/feature/2000/05/04/germ_warfare_two/index.html). The pig information is on the second page. ---
**Author:** ![swami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@swami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swami)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2004, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-powerhouse-cure-for-gi-tract-and-bowel-diseases-but-its-pretty-umm-hardcore/238829/10 "2004-04-08T14:18:54Z")
> [@Mauvaise](#): > > I’m sure my mother, who was inflicted with a particularly severe case of Crohn’s would have tried it in a heartbeat, but man… couldn’t they put that in pill or shot form? Do ya have to _drink_ it? :eek: I think you just have to drink a solution with the eggs inside. I just hope the drink is grape flavoured. (grape is my favourite fruit)