Study 53 — Post-Helminth-Deprivation Autoimmune Disease and the Fasting Intervention: A Mechanistic Review with Clinical Evidence Assessment

Study 53 of the Hidden Infections research series. Mechanistic review and clinical evidence assessment for fasting-based interventions as pharmacological substitutes for the lost helminth immunoregulatory signal across six post-helminth-deprivation disease categories: IBD, MS, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, coeliac disease, and asthma. Evidence tier by disease: IBD/FMD STRONG (Kulkarni 2026 Nature Medicine RCT; 69.2% vs 43.8% response); MS/FMD MODERATE (NAMS trial, Bahr et al. 2025); T1D/FMD MODERATE (robust preclinical; no human trial); RA/fasting MODERATE (Lancet 1991 RCT); coeliac/asthma HYPOTHESIS. Five molecular pathways: BHB/NLRP3, BHB/STAT6/M2, Treg expansion, mTOR/autophagy, haematopoietic reconstitution. CC0 public domain. AI-assisted draft pre-print.