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U.S.HEALTH WATCH

Tapeworm drug could help treat incurable disease that affects 190…

Washington State University researchers want human trials after a single targeted dose reduced lesions in mice; the drug's low solubility is a hurdle.

On air: Hank Ledger, Vera Bullock and Dale Bearman on Weekend Edition
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Photo: Rillke · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 3.0
▶ As it aired · U.S.

Watch it as it aired: Hank Ledger, Vera Bullock and Dale Bearman on this story, from Weekend Edition at 12:04 PM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are New York Post's, the jokes are ours.

Photo: Niclosamide
Photo: Rillke · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 3.0

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  1. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorAs promised: researchers at Washington State University say niclosamide, a drug approved for tapeworm infections, shrank endometriosis lesions and eased pain sensitivity in mice after a single targeted dose.

  2. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorTen percent of women and girls of reproductive age, about one hundred ninety million, could finally have hope if this pans out in humans. That's a massive population waiting for answers.

  3. Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorIn mice, Vera. The tapeworm gets a promotion before any human gets a trial.

  4. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorSports with Rex now. Rex, did anyone on your bench ever take a tapeworm pill?

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