Parasitic Infections and Ulcerative Colitis: Combining Anti-parasitic and Immunomodulatory Treatments May Achieve Remission

Parasitic Infection Flares up the Activity of Ulcerative Colitis; However, Combined Immunomodulatory Therapy With Anti-parasitic Treatment Could Proceed Toward Remission

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT06583863

Enrollment

120

Registered

2024-09-04

Start date

2023-09-12

Completion date

2024-06-12

Last updated

2024-09-04

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Ulcerative Colitis

Brief summary

The study aimed to explore the link between parasitic infections and the severity of ulcerative colitis (UC). 120 UC patients were divided into three groups: those without infection, those with Giardia lamblia infection treated with metronidazole, and those with Giardia infection treated with a combination of metronidazole and E. purpurea. The results revealed that patients with Giardia infections exhibited more severe UC symptoms. All groups experienced improved symptoms following treatment, but the combination therapy group demonstrated the most significant improvement. Remission rates were highest in the group without infection and the group receiving combination therapy. Additionally, the study identified E. purpurea therapy and a substantial reduction in SCCAI score as significant predictors of higher remission rates.

Interventions

DRUGEchinacea Extract

175 mg of Echinacea extract was provided as an immunlant therapy twice daily.

DRUGMetroNIDAZOLE 500 MG Oral Tablet [Flagyl]

500 mg of metronidazole was provided as an oral tablets twice daily

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE (Subject)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

20 Years to 60 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Ulcerative Colitis patients had active disease, * Patients had parasitic infection by G. lambellia, * Patients free of parasitic infection, * Patients free of

Exclusion criteria

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Proportion of patients reporting at least a 50% increase in the remission rate of parasitic infection (measured by changes in Serum CRP, Fecal calprotectin, and on the Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index[SCCAI]) in patients with Ulcerative colitis.	4 weeks	Patients had parasitic infection showed significantly higher pre-treatment SCCAI score and FCP level than patients free of infection. Post-treatment SCCAI scores of all patients were significantly lower than the pre-treatment scores.

Countries

Egypt

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026