In a comprehensive and compelling book, Moises Velaquez Manoff has provided an updated version of the hygiene hypothesis to explain: Why is there more autoimmune diseases in the modern world?
While the idea that we are now no longer exposed to enough pathogens and therefore our immune system is beginning to attack our bodies is certainly not new, the author has provided a comprehensive review of the lots of new evidence supporting this hypothesis.
This area of research is growing rapidly and as an active research scientist in this field, I found this book to be a terrific compilation of almost all the most important studies out there. Through interviews with most of the leading scientists in this field, the author has been able to synthesize their thoughts into laypersons terms.
I gave this book to my parents after reading it, because it explained to them the concepts behind the type of research that I was doing now. Indeed, if I were to have the time, this would have been the book that I would have liked to write. There are very few things missing in it, and indeed many more ideas and stories that I had never come across.
The book is also livened up by personal stories of individuals who have taken matters into their own hands by infecting themselves with parasites to treat their symptoms of auto-immunity. Indeed, the author chronicles his own voyage in this regard. His writing captures the personalities of some of these individuals very well and reminds us that these autoimmune diseases are devastating many lives in our modern world.
The author starts by describing how the environment we live in has undergone rapid changes from the perspective of the microbes that we are exposed to and then begins to examine, one disease at a time, how these diseases may be linked with exposure to microbes. What has revolutionized this field over the last few years has been the increased appreciation of how our commensal gut bacteria affect our immune systems and this book will bring you up to date with the most recent studies in this field.
Through interviews with scientists, a picture is painted of how parasites and microbes may provide protection against diseases like inflammatory bowel disease, asthma, multiple sclerosis and so on. A particularly interesting idea is put forward regarding the effects on pregnancy and autism, which was also discussed in a New York Time opinion piece.
This book is a terrific read for anyone interested in how the immune system interacts with pathogens and commensals, providing a laypersons explanation for the rise of diseases where the immune response is dysregulated. This hypothesis is now in the main stream of science and no longer a fringe idea and is a very exciting place to be as a research scientist.
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Top reviews from other countries
Olivier St-Amand
Nice information all around, but the science is at its absolute first steps.
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on March 13, 2013
