Lupus and Syphilis--Is there a (non-causal) Connection? [View all]

Syphilis is believed to have been picked up in the Antilles and brought by to Europe by Columbus. The natives of the Antilles suffered from something the Spanish called "los bubos". They were able to keep the disease in check. One of their cultural heros/gods was a man who cured himself of the affliction. Having the disease and then clearing it was a sign of shamanic powers.

So, what extra immune factor/gene did the natives of the Antilles have to help them survive endemic syphilis? I suggest it was the lupus gene. Lupus is common in Native Americans, African-Americans---and uncommon in people from Central Africa. Lupus patients have an antibody that interacts with an antibody that syphilis patients have. Lupus attacks many of the same organs.

In England, MS is being treated with controlled hookworm infections. Once upon a time, people who grew up in the US South did not get MS---presumably because they spent a lot of time outdoors barefoot and therefore were exposed to hookworms. Ancient humans, who would have been plagued by parasitic infections, could have acquired an inbred genetic based immunity to certain parasites. And when we stopped being exposed to those common environmental infections, those immune factors looked for something else to fight, something similar to the worm, in the case of MS the hosts own nerve tissue. This is called the Hygiene Hypothesis.

What's the point? Maybe a carefully controlled infection with some other treponeme (not syphilis) or spirochete could control lupus. It's worth thinking about.