New therapies for Coeliac Disease: Helminths and their secreted products. (Old ID 22524)
Role
Principal Investigator
Description
Coeliac Disease (CeD) is a common and debilitating autoimmune disorder (affecting 1% of the Queensland population) where gluten ingestion triggers an inflammatory reaction and severe intestinal symptoms. A gluten-free diet is effective for some, but is expensive, inconvenient and inadvertant gluten exposure is common. Hence there is a need for new new treatements for CeD. In a recent clinical trial, our research group demonstrated the efficacy of an unlikely agent to imporive gluten tolerance; parasitic helominths (worms). The overall aim of my research is to translate this movel thereapy into a larger, placebo-controlled clinical trail and study the mechanisms by which worms control the immune response. Identification of the molecules that the worms prodcue to suppress gluten-induced pathology will allow the development of "pill-based" medcations for CeD, and potentially other autoimmune or inflammatory conditions.
Date
01 Feb 2016 - 01 May 2019
Project Type
GRANT
Keywords
Autoimmunity;Inflammation;Parasite;Clinical Trial
Funding Body
QLD Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation
Amount
300000
Project Team
N/A