When worms are the clickbait: NPR story confuses more than informs

Does the story adequately discuss the costs of the intervention?

Not Satisfactory

Costs aren’t mentioned. Parasites can costs thousands of dollars for a year’s supply, and worms must be replenished because they tend to die off. Since this is a non-approved and non-proven therapy, all costs would likely be out of pocket.

Does the story adequately explain/quantify the harms of the intervention?

Not Satisfactory

The story says one person found that having worms in his body “wasn’t pleasant,” and he experienced diarrhea and cramps. But potential risks are not adequately addressed. According to a story in The New York Times Magazine, for example, severe whipworm infection can result in anemia, clubbed fingers and stunted growth in children.

Does the story seem to grasp the quality of the evidence?

Not Satisfactory

The story could have done a better job of spelling out that better quality research is needed on the safety and efficacy of using parasites to fight autoimmune disease. It mentions trials using worms for Crohn’s disease, childhood allergies and asthma that “haven’t gone so well” and says it’s “unclear why the worms haven’t worked in these trials.”

Yet, before this, the story states intestinal worms “do something amazing” by suppressing the immune system and keeping it from “getting out of control and attacking the body,” assertions that are attributed to a researcher. Only later does the story mention that this is part of a hypothesis, a point that needed far more emphasis, especially since the trial evidence so far doesn’t indicate anything amazing.

For the most part, the story heavily leans on the personal experience of writer Moises Velasquez-Manoff, who wrote a recent article published in The New York Times Magazine about an underground network of patients who are self-treating with parasites. In the NPR story, Velasquez-Manoff describes temporary relief from his own hay fever and alopecia, which causes hair loss, after he ingested hookworm larvae obtained in Mexico. He tried the worms after talking to many people who gave parasites “rave reviews.” Indeed, some people say parasites relieve their symptoms. But that’s not clinical evidence.

Does the story compare the new approach with existing alternatives?

Not Satisfactory

The story does not mention how parasites compare to existing treatments for autoimmune diseases in terms of safety, efficacy or cost.

Does the story establish the availability of the treatment/test/product/procedure?

Not Satisfactory

The story mentions that one person obtained worms in Mexico. Otherwise, there’s no information about their availability. In fact, selling worms for therapeutic use is illegal in the U.S.–this should have been mentioned.