Tapeworm drug could help treat incurable disease that affects 190 million women

Talk about an unlikely hero.Tapeworms are often the bane of the health world, from ill-advised use to achieve a slim waist to inflicting terrible neurological symptoms like headaches, confusion, seizures and death.Medication used for the little larvae could provide relief for a disease with debilitating pain and no cure that experts have deemed a clinical failure for millions of women.Despite 1 in 10 women of reproductive age worldwide suffering, Dr.Sheeva Talebian, board-certified reproductive endocrinologist, previously told The Post that symptoms of endometriosis are often unreported and misdiagnosed.A new study, though, has found a promising treatment for the progressive, inflammatory disease that could directly target the painful lesions growing outside the uterus.Published in August in the journal Advanced Healthcare Material, researchers fitted niclosamide, an FDA-approved anti-worm drug, with nanotech armor for use in mice.The medication reduced inflammation and slowed or prevented further spread of the lesions — a boon for the condition whose existing treatments merely alleviate symptoms, albeit with side effects.While there’s no cure for endometriosis, current remedies like hormonal medications stall the menstrual cycle to limit the growth of lesions, while surgeries can remove the lesions themselves or parts of the reproductive system to manage pain.However, the medications can often cause side effects, like nausea and mood swings.

Meanwhile, lesions can keep growing after surgery.These adverse effects prompted the need for an additional option.Previous research in mice found a group of rogue immune cells specific to endometrial lesion tissue that drove growth and turbocharged the painful inflammation.Researchers also discovered a unique chemical label in the cells called a folate receptor, which made them a potential target for drugs — specifically, niclosamide.Clinicians had already been testing whether this drug could be used for other condition...