The Hygiene Hypothesis and Darwinian Medicine

Front Cover
Graham A.W. Rook
Springer Science & Business Media, Dec 24, 2009 - Medical - 308 pages

Man has moved rapidly from the hunter-gatherer environment to the living conditions of industrialised countries. The hygiene hypothesis suggests that the resulting reduced exposure to micro-organisms has led to disordered regulation of the immune system, and hence to increases in certain chronic inflammatory disorders, like allergic disorders, autoimmunity, inflammatory bowel disease, atherosclerosis, depression, some cancers and perhaps Alzheimer and Parkinson. This book discusses the evidence for and against in the context of Darwinian medicine, which uses knowledge of evolution to cast light on human diseases. The approach is interdisciplinary, looking at man’s microbiological history, at the biology of the effects of microorganisms on the immune system, and at the implications for chronic inflammatory disorders in multiple organ systems. Finally, the authors describe progress in the exploitation of microorganisms or their components as novel prophylactics and treatments.

 

Contents

David E Elliott and Joel V Weinstock
8
The paleolithic diseasescape the hygiene hypothesis
29
Maizels and Ursula Wiedermann
45
Dale T Umetsu and Rosemarie H DeKruyff
77
Fergus Shanahan
93
Matricardi and Eckard Hamelmann
117
Jorge Correale
135
Anne Cooke
179
Hafid AitOufella Alain Tedgui and Ziad Mallat
221
Mel Greaves
239
W Sue T Griffin and Robert E Mrak
257
Honeyman and Leonard C Harrison
279
Index
299
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Bibliographic information