There is an urgent need to develop better therapeutics for autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases, of which musculoskeletal disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis are particularly prevalent and debilitating. Helminth parasites are accomplished masters at modifying their hosts' immune activity, and so attention has focused on rodent-helminth model systems to uncover the workings of the mammalian immune response to metazoan parasites, with the hope of revealing molecules and/or mechanisms that can be translated into better treatments for human autoimmune and idiopathic disorders. Substantial proof-of-principal data supporting the concept that infection with helminth parasites can reduce the severity of concomitant disease has been amassed from models of mucosal inflammation. Indeed, infection with helminth parasites has been tried as a therapy in inflammatory bowel disease, and there are case reports relating to other conditions (e.g., autism); however, the impact of infection with parasitic helminths on musculoskeletal diseases has not been extensively studied. Here, we present the view that such a strategy should be applied to the amelioration of joint inflammation and review the literature that supports this contention. 1. Introduction Infection with helminth parasites results in a conserved series of immune events that are orchestrated and dominated by T helper cell type 2 (Th2) events [1]. Given the reciprocity in immune regulation where, for example, Th2 cell-derived mediators inhibit the activity of Th1 cells, the hypothesis arises that individuals infected with helminth parasites could be less susceptible to other inflammatory diseases. By extrapolation, infection with helminth parasites could be used to treat disease driven by Th1 cells. Many species of parasitic helminths reside at mucosal surfaces, and it has repeatedly been shown that infection with trematode, cestode, or nematode parasites can reduce the severity of colitis and airway inflammation in murine models [2]. The impact of infection with helminths on organs outside the parasite’s location has received less attention. Here, we review the effect of infection with helminth parasites on joint inflammation. The last four decades have seen an alarming increase in the prevalence of autoimmune diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Western societies. Rheumatoid arthritis is a painful and debilitating disease that affects ~1% of the North American population [3]. The socioeconomic burden of this disease is
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