Tapeworms

[elemenope]

I have been debating about weather or not to post this question for a while. It is, admitadley, a bit ridiculous, but I can't really think of a good answer. OK: Why don't doctors feed morbidley obese people tapeworms, and remove them before they become threatening?

[Ethel]

Neurocysticercosis and cysticercosis are two very good reasons for not introducing tapeworm into the body.

These can cause epilepsy, blindness, heart failure and swelling of the brain.

In addition the tapeworm sucks all the goodness out of the food, leaving the person with a dire lack of vitamins, proteinns and nutrients. This could result in the 'pot belly' seen in starving people as well as thinning bones, anaemia and other medical complaints connected to poor diet.

[McMouse]

They don't taste very nice.

[joko]

interetsing question

could the tapeworms not be specailly bred with out thise diseases...and the person given vitamins to counteract the losses...just until the weight was at a more 'manageable' level... no point worrying about things not being the 'ideal' if the person is going to die...

[sqad617]

joko....nice thought, but we have aproblem here....the tapeworm if taken by mouth would be destroyed by the gastric juice, it is the cysts (fertilised tapeworm eggs) which are resistent to the gastric juices. One would have to feed the "eggs" to the victim and as Ethel has mentioned cystocercosis of the brain is not the sort of thing to have.

[Ethel]

And in any case having a tapeworm is very unpleasant - itching anus, leakage...