StemCell Therapy

The severity of COVID-19 can vary hugely. In some it causes no symptoms at all and in others its life threatening, with some people particularly vulnerable to its very severe impacts.

The virus disproportionately affects men and people who are older and who have conditions such as diabetes and obesity. In the UK and other western countries, ethnic minorities have also been disproportionately affected.

While many factors contribute to how severely people are affected, including access to healthcare, occupational exposure and environmental risks such as pollution, its becoming clear that for some of these at-risk groups, its the response of their immune system inflammation that explains why they get so sick.

Specifically, were seeing that the risks associated with diabetes, obesity, age and sex are all related to the immune system functioning irregularly when confronted by the virus.

Inflammation can go too far

A common feature for many patients that get severe COVID is serious lung damage caused by an overly vigorous immune response. This is characterised by the creation of lots of inflammatory products called cytokines the so-called cytokine storm.

Cytokines can be really powerful tools in the immune response: they can stop viruses reproducing, for example. However, some cytokine actions such as helping bring in other immune cells to fight an infection or enhancing the ability of these recruited cells to get across blood vessels can cause real damage if they are not controlled. This is exactly what happens in a cytokine storm.

Many white blood cells create cytokines, but specialised cells called monocytes and macrophages seem to be some of the biggest culprits in generating cytokine storms. When properly controlled, these cells are a force for good that can detect and destroy threats, clear and repair damaged tissue, and bring in other immune cells to help.

However, in severe COVID the way monocytes and macrophages work misfires. And this is particularly true in patients with diabetes and obesity.

Diabetes, if not controlled well, can result in high levels of glucose in the body. A recent study showed that, in COVID, macrophages and monocytes respond to high levels of glucose with worrying consequences.

The virus that causes COVID, SARS-CoV-2, needs a target to latch onto in order to invade our cells. Its choice is a protein on the cell surface called ACE2. Glucose increases the levels of ACE2 present on macrophages and monocytes, helping the virus infect the very cells that should be helping to kill it.

Cytokines, small proteins released by a number of immune cells, play a key role in directing the immune response.

Image: scientificanimations.com

Once the virus is safely inside these cells, it causes them to start making lots of inflammatory cytokines effectively kick-starting the cytokine storm. And the higher the levels of glucose, the more successful the virus is at replicating inside the cells essentially the glucose fuels the virus.

But the virus isnt done yet. It also causes the virally infected immune cells to make products that are very damaging to the lung, such as reactive oxygen species. And on top of this, the virus reduces the ability of other immune cells lymphocytes to kill it.

Obesity also causes high levels of glucose in the body and, similar to diabetes, affects macrophage and monocyte activation. Research has shown that macrophages from obese individuals are an ideal place for SARS-CoV-2 to thrive.

Other risks tied to inflammation

The same sort of inflammatory profile that diabetes and obesity cause is also seen in some older people (those over 60 years). This is due to a phenomenon known as inflammageing.

Inflammageing is characterised by having high levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Its influenced by a number of factors, including genetics, the microbiome (the bacteria, viruses and other microbes that live inside and on you) and obesity.

Many older people also have fewer lymphocytes the very cells that can specifically target and destroy viruses.

This all means that for some older people, their immune system is not only poorly equipped to fight off an infection, but it is also more likely to lead to a damaging immune response. Having fewer lymphocytes also means vaccines may not work as well, which is crucial to consider when planning a future COVID vaccine campaign.

Irregular inflammatory responses are emerging as a common theme across the different risk factors for severe COVID.

Image: EPA-EFE

Another puzzle that has been worrying researchers is why men seem so much more vulnerable to COVID. One reason is that cells in men seem to be more readily infected by SARS-CoV-2 than women. The ACE2 receptor that the virus uses to latch onto and infect cells is expressed much more highly in men than women. Men also have higher levels of an enzyme called TMPRSS2 that promotes the ability of the virus to enter the cells.

Immunology is also offering some clues on the sex difference. Its long been known that men and women differ in their immune responses, and this is true in COVID.

A recent pre-print (research that has not yet been reviewed) has tracked and compared the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 in men and women over time. It found that men were more likely to develop atypical monocytes that were profoundly pro-inflammatory and capable of making cytokines typical of a cytokine storm. Women also tended to have a more robust T cell response, which is needed for effective virus killing. However, increased age and having a higher body mass index reversed the protective immune effect in women.

Studies like these highlight how different people are. The more we understand about these differences and vulnerabilities, the more we can consider how best to treat each patient. Data like these also highlight the need to consider variation in immune function and include people of varied demographics in drug and vaccine trials.

Originally posted here:
How does the immune response affect inflammation in COVID-19 patients? - World Economic Forum

You dont really want to "boost" your immune system.

Q: I always seem to get sick when I start a job. Makes sense new people, new germs. I started a job in February, then we all had to work from home. I worry that being isolated for weeks puts me back at square one. What can I ado to boost my immunity in preparation for going back to the office?

A: We're always happy to have this particular discussion, because the strategies and habits involved in addressing immune health also tend to lead to improved health overall. The immune system plays an important role in protecting us from all sorts of potential pathogens, and you're not alone in wondering how to give it an edge.

First, let's clarify the goal. We hear a lot about "boosting" the immune system, but that's actually misleading. You don't want an amped-up immune system. That would mean that it's hyper-alert and reacts and overreacts to every perceived threat. Rather, the goal is an immune system that's healthy and balanced and responds in proportion to the job at hand.

One of the most important steps you can take to keep your immune system happy and healthy involve lifestyle. That is, get an adequate amount of high-quality sleep, take part in daily exercise, don't smoke, limit alcohol use and eat a healthful diet. When you're chronically tired, depressed or anxious, overweight, eat poorly, smoke, drink too much and don't get enough exercise, you're creating internal stressors that can interfere with optimal immune system response.

Diet plays an important role in immune system health. Emerging research continues to link the health and diversity of the gut microbiome with the health and efficacy of the immune system. We urge our patients to get the necessary vitamins and minerals through food, which we believe the body utilizes more efficiently than supplements. Plenty of fresh vegetables, leafy greens and fruit are crucial to getting a range of vitamins and minerals and to keeping the billions of microorganisms that make up our gut microbiomes well-fed. So are nuts, seeds, beans and legumes. Cultured and fermented foods, such as pickles, sauerkraut, yogurt, kombucha, kefir and miso help with diversity.

We know it's a challenge, but steering clear of added sugar, sugary soft drinks and highly processed foods is also important to both gut and immune health. Recent studies have shown that regular exercise improves gut health. Sleep is also critical to health and well-being. We've had a lot of readers asking for help in this area, and we will revisit the topic in a column in the next few weeks.

We understand that, compared with the vitamins and supplements and products that promise instant immune system magic, this advice sounds pretty dull. But our bodies are intricate and interconnected mechanisms. Everything from circadian rhythms, which are affected by sleep, to the gut microbiome, which is affected by diet and exercise, to mood, which responds to all three, play a role in immune health. Focusing on a whole-body approach, with gradual but consistent changes, goes a long way toward building an immune system that's balanced and ready to work for you.

Send your questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla.edu, or write: Ask the Doctors, c/o UCLA Health Sciences Media Relations, 10880 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1450, Los Angeles, CA, 90024.

See the original post:
Whole-body welfare helps immunity: Ask the Doctors - GoErie.com

Share this Article

You are free to share this article under the Attribution 4.0 International license.

Boosting the immune system could offer a potential treatment strategy for COVID-19, according to a new study.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to claim lives around the world, much research has focused on the immune systems role in patients who become seriously ill.

A popular theory has it that the immune system gets so revved up fighting the virus that, after several days, it produces a so-called cytokine storm that results in potentially fatal organ damage, particularly to the lungs.

Some drugs tamp down the immune response, while others enhance it. Everybody seems to be throwing the kitchen sink at the illness.

But the new findings point to another theory and suggest that patients become ill because their immune systems cant do enough to protect them from the virus, landing them in intensive care units.

Researchers detailed the new strategy to boost the immune system in two papers, in JAMA Network Open and in the journal JCI Insight.

People around the world have been treating patients seriously ill with COVID-19 using drugs that do very different things, says senior investigator Richard S. Hotchkiss, professor of anesthesiology, of medicine, and of surgery at Washington University in St. Louis.

Some drugs tamp down the immune response, while others enhance it. Everybody seems to be throwing the kitchen sink at the illness. It may be true that some people die from a hyperinflammatory response, but it appears more likely to us that if you block the immune system too much, youre not going to be able to control the virus.

We think if we can make our immune systems stronger, well be better able to fight off this coronavirus

The researchers have been investigating a similar approach in treating sepsis, a potentially fatal condition that also involves patients who simultaneously seem to have overactive and weakened immune systems.

Hotchkiss points to autopsy studies performed by other groups showing large amounts of coronavirus present in the organs of people who died from COVID-19, suggesting that their immune systems were not working well enough to fight the virus.

His colleague, Kenneth E. Remy, first author of the JCI Insight paper, compares efforts to inhibit the immune system to fixing a flat tire by letting more air out.

But when we actually looked closely at these patients, we found that their tires, so to speak, were underinflated or immune-suppressed, says Remy, assistant professor of pediatrics, of medicine, and of anesthesiology.

To go and poke holes in them with anti-inflammatory drugs because you think they are hyperinflated or hyperinflamed will only make the suppression and the disease worse.

After gathering blood samples from 20 COVID-19 patients at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis, the researchers employed a test to measure the activity of immune cells in the blood. They compared the blood of those patients to 26 hospitalized sepsis patients and 18 others who were very sick but had neither sepsis nor COVID-19.

They found that the COVID-19 patients often had far fewer circulating immune cells than is typical. Further, the present immune cells did not secrete normal levels of cytokinesthe molecules many have proposed as a cause of organ damage and death in COVID-19 patients.

Instead of trying to fight the infection by further interfering with the production of cytokines, they tried a strategy that has been successful in previous studies they have conducted in sepsis patients.

Hotchkiss and Remy collaborated with researchers in a small study conducted in seriously ill hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Belgium.

In that study, which the researchers reported on in the JAMA Network Open paper,researchers treated the COVID-19 patients with a substance called interleukin-7 (IL-7), a cytokine, required for the healthy development of immune cells.

In those patients, the researchers found that IL-7 helped restore balance to the immune system by increasing the number of immune cells and helping those cells make more cytokines to fight infection.

The research did not demonstrate, however, that treatment with IL-7 improved mortality in COVID-19 patients.

This was a compassionate trial and not a randomized, controlled trial of IL-7, Remy explains. We were attempting to learn whether we could get these immune cells working againand we couldas well as whether we could do it without causing harmful effects in these very sick patientsand there were none.

As this was an observational study involving a small number of patients who already were on ventilators, it wasnt really designed to evaluate IL-7s impact on mortality.

Studies focused on boosting immunity and improving outcomes among the sickest COVID-19 patients are just getting underway in Europe, and similar trials are starting in the US, including at Washington University.

Finding ways to boost the immune response should help not only in COVID-19 patients but when the next pandemic arises, Hotchkiss says.

We should have been geared up and more ready when this pathogen appeared, he says. But what Ken and I and our colleagues are working on now is finding ways to boost the immune system that may help people during future pandemics. We think if we can make our immune systems stronger, well be better able to fight off this coronavirus, as well as other viral and bacterial pathogens that may be unleashed in the future.

Source: Washington University in St. Louis

Follow this link:
Can boosting the immune system treat COVID-19? - Futurity: Research News

Any new infectious disease poses unique challenges to people who are pregnant during an outbreak. The effects of Sars, Zika and influenza in pregnancy highlight the potential immediate and longer term detrimental health outcomes a virus can have for both mother and baby. These risks include premature delivery of the baby with Sars, birth defects with Zika and greater risk of severe influenza.

Should we be as worried about pregnancy and COVID-19? There are a number of things we need to think about. These fall into two broad areas related to the effects on the foetus and the effects on the pregnant person themselves.

In both cases we need to think about the immediate effects during the pregnancy as well as the longer term health effects for both parent and child. The early evidence we have shows that changes to the immune system during pregnancy could be somewhat protective against the disease.

Early data from pregnant women with COVID-19 indicates that the disease is linked to premature birth and changes to the placenta that might reflect altered blood flow. This suggests that virus-associated disruptions do occur between parent and foetus.

However, these studies were of women with severe cases of the disease. We know very little about the effect of mild disease or asymptomatic infection in pregnancy. Understanding this is critical, as studies have highlighted that asymptomatic and mildly infected pregnant women far outnumber those requiring hospitalisation for COVID-19.

This indicates that pregnant people are not more susceptible to severe COVID-19, which was one of the greatest concerns at the beginning of the pandemic and led to them being categorised as vulnerable.

The apparent protective effect of pregnancy against severe disease might simply reflect the different immune responses to severe COVID-19 seen in men and women, and the fact that more men than women die from the disease in general. However, we do not see the same response in pregnancy with other viruses, such as influenza, suggesting something else is at play with SARS-CoV-2.

So far, it seems that the foetus is very well protected from the passage of SARS-CoV-2 from mother to child (known as vertical transmission) and such passage, while possible, seems to be uncommon. This might be down to the natural features of the placenta, which produces molecules that stop the virus binding to placental cells. It could also be that the placental membranes limit infection by the virus.

Of course, it is very difficult to study the placenta prior to birth. Alternative measures, such as analysing cellular debris released from the placenta (known as extracellular vesicles) which can be found in a sample of the mothers blood, are really needed to find out what features of the placenta might protect the foetus from infection and what effects the virus has on the placenta.

Any antibodies that a mother infected with SARS-CoV-2 makes will pass to the foetus across the placenta (known as passive immunity). This provides short-term protection from many infectious agents for the last months of pregnancy and for some months after the baby is born. These antibodies will also continue to be provided in breast milk if the baby is breast fed.

Early studies from China have shown that antibodies that protect against COVID-19 are present in newborns of women who had such antibodies. This confirms that passive immunity, where a baby essentially inherits antibodies from a parent, occurs with SARS-CoV-2. We now need some larger studies to investigate whether anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies are present in human milk to better understand the role of these antibodies in neutralising the virus and protecting the baby.

Molecules other than antibodies can also pass from parent to foetus. Pregnant women with severe COVID-19 have many of the hallmarks of an inflammatory response that we see in other people with similar symptoms. This includes elevated levels of molecules such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), which indicates that the immune response has been activated.

There are a number of studies showing that maternal immune activation can have detrimental effects on the developing foetus. Such activation is associated with increased risk of respiratory, cardiovascular, neurodevelopmental and other disorders in the offspring. Whether SARS-CoV-2 will have such long-term effects on the health of these children remains to be seen.

In a previous article, we discussed how the immune system changes during pregnancy, and it might be that unique features of this and other dynamic adaptations that occur with pregnancy provide protection from severe COVID-19.

Other examples of possible protective mechanisms include differences in the receptor molecules used by SARS-CoV-2 to invade human cells. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the best known of these viral entry receptors but CD147, CD26 and others also have this role.

All of these receptors undergo changes during pregnancy, which might contribute to resilience. These receptors also occur as soluble forms that can be measured in blood and breast milk and might act as decoy receptors, stopping the virus from binding to cells.

Elaborating on why both the pregnant person and their child seem to be relatively resilient to severe forms of COVID-19 might help us understand other disease processes and identify ways to combat the disease.

Work from the UK Obstetric Surveillance System has shown that, as with the wider population, Asian and Black pregnant women are more likely to be admitted to hospital with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Therefore, we really need to consider the effects of ethnicity and other risk factors in our studies of COVID-19 in pregnancy.

This is especially important as these studies will support efforts towards the use of any vaccine in pregnancy.

Read the original here:
COVID-19 and pregnancy: what we know about what happens to your immune system - The Conversation UK

Alcohol abuse is a serious problem worldwide. In England alone, over 350,000 alcohol-related hospital admissions and over 5,000 alcohol-related deaths were reported in 2018. Long-term alcohol abuse can have many harmful effects on our body. But one of the organs most affected by alcohol is the brain. Even moderate consumption changes brain structure and leads to cognitive issues, such as declines in memory and problem-solving.

Alcohol use is habit forming and can eventually lead to alcoholism. And though there are many treatments available for alcoholism, research shows these interventions often fail with less than 20% of patients remaining alcohol free after intervention. Like every addiction, alcoholism is a disease and not a choice, so finding the root cause of it will make treatment easier.

Although genetics and the environment you live in are known to play a role in developing alcoholism, these factors dont tell us how dependence occurs.

However, past research has found hints that the brains immune system cells (known as microglia) may be involved in addiction, including to cocaine and tobacco). One study even found that alcohol exposure and withdrawal in rats increased microglia numbers in the brain, before any other signs of alcohol-induced decline.

Another two recent studies have investigated brain changes seen in people and animals with alcohol dependence. Each of these studies found a common culprit: inflamed microglia.

Microglia are the brains resident immune system cells. Their main role is to guard and maintain balance in the brain. When microglia detect a threat, they respond by becoming inflamed and attacking. Normally, they return to normal after the threat is gone, but sometimes when inflammation becomes uncontrollable such as with Alzeimers disease it can lead to brain degeneration.

One recent study used mice to study the effect of alcohol dependence on the brain.

In the brains of male mice that had alcohol dependency, research found there were more microglia cells in the medial prefrontal cortex, a region associated with pain, decision making, and memory processes. Similar results have also previously been found in humans.

They then examined what effects microglia depletion had on alcohol dependent mice by looking at their alcohol seeking behaviour, and anxious behaviour during alcohol withdrawal. The researchers found both factors were lowered when the microglia cells were reduced in the brain.

They also saw gene changes with microglia depletion. Genes involved in inflammation and immune responses were expressed less after depletion. The expression of genes involved in alcohol consumption, and alcohol dependence also changed when microglia had decreased. They also found that microglia depletion weakens brain circuits involved in the development of dependence and relapse behaviour in rodents.

A second study looking at both rodent and human brains also showed microglia is involved in alcohol dependence.

The researchers of this study used brain imaging, microglia depletion, and studies of post mortem brains, to examine changes that occur in alcohol dependence. For the brain imaging part, they used a variation of MRI scans, called DTI-MRI in humans and rats, focusing on a measure called mean diffusivity.

As DTI-MRI is based on the diffusion of water in tissues, mean diffusivity essentially shows the amount of diffusion of water molecules in tissues, with more dense and structurally-intact tissues having lower mean diffusivity. Mean diffusivity has previously been shown to change in the brain in inflammatory and degenerative conditions (including Alzheimers Disease and even psychosis). The researchers therefore chose to look at mean diffusivity as neuroinflammation is also involved in alcoholism. The researchers wanted to examine whether changes in mean diffusivity would be found between alcoholics and non-alcoholics, which hasnt been done before.

Indeed their findings showed that mean diffusivity is overall higher in the brain of alcohol dependent rats and humans. They also found additional changes in how certain neurotransmitters including dopamine, which is involved in alcohol dependence move and are distributed in the brain.

The researchers went on to examine the microglia in the brains of rats with alcohol dependence, and rats with previous dependence who had abstained from alcohol for a week. They found a decreased amount of microglia in specific brain regions of dependent rats (including the hippocampus, which is involved in memory, and the nucleus accumbens, which is involved in the reward system). The microglia in the brains of alcohol dependent rats were also in their inflamed form.

Although this study showed a decrease in microglia numbers whereas the previous study saw an increase this might be because the researchers looked at different brain regions and used different research methods and animal models. However, both studies give hints towards how microglia functions during alcohol consumption and dependence, may differ in different brain regions.

The researchers also found that depleting microglia from the brain, or inducing microglias inflammatory response, led to similar results to each other, as both increased the mean diffusivity. Changes in microglias form when inflamed were also similar to the ones they observed in dependent rats. They concluded that the changes in the brain areas they studied could be explained by an inflammatory reaction of microglia caused by alcohol.

One limitation of both studies findings is that they used both only male rodents and male humans. However, both studies exhibit how alcoholism is a complex disease that produces clear changes in the brain.

Examining how exactly microglia is involved, and being able to interfere with their responses, could lead to better understanding and detection of addiction to alcohol, and give a good stepping stone for future targeted interventions.

Visit link:
Alcohol addiction: could the brain's immune system be the key to understanding and treating alcoholism? - The Conversation UK

By: Express News Service | New Delhi | Updated: August 14, 2020 9:11:20 amA doctor attends to a Covid-19 patient in Argentina. (AP Photo: Natacha Pisarenko)

Why are some Covid-19 cases more severe than others? A new study has uncovered deviations and lapses in the immune system that appear to spell the difference between severe and mild cases of Covid-19.

The difference, the study suggests, may stem from how our evolutionarily ancient innate immune system responds to SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that cases Covid-19. The innate immune system rapidly senses pathogens, and immediately launches a somewhat indiscriminate attack on them. It also mobilises precisely targeted, but slower sharp-shooter cells from the adaptive immune system (which is different from the innate immune system).

These findings reveal how the immune system goes awry during coronavirus infections, leading to severe disease, and point to potential therapeutic targets, senior author Bali Pulendran of Stanford Medicine said in a statement. The study is published in Science.

The researchers analysed the immune response in 76 people with Covid-19 and in 69 health people. They found enhanced levels of molecules that promote inflammation in the blood of severely ill patients. Three of these molecules are known to be associated with lung inflammation in other diseases, but had not been shown previously in Covid-19 infections.

Source: Stanford Medicine News Center

The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest Explained News, download Indian Express App.

The Indian Express (P) Ltd

Original post:
Explained: How the immune system goes awry in severe Covid-19 cases - The Indian Express

It's the question everyone wants answered: How long are we protected from catching COVID-19 after we've recovered from the novel coronavirus?

Its the question everyone wants answered: How long are we protected from catching Covid-19 after weve recovered from the novel coronavirus and what does that really mean?

Last week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its quarantine guidelines online to say that people who have recovered from Covid-19 do not need to quarantine or get tested again for up to three months but the agency clarified in a statement to CNN on Friday that does not mean that people are immune to reinfection.

People who have tested positive for COVID-19 do not need to quarantine or get tested again for up to 3 months as long as they do not develop symptoms again, the CDC guidance stated.

A CDC spokesperson said the guidance is based on the latest science about COVID-19 showing that people can continue to test positive for up to 3 months after diagnosis and not be infectious to others.

Yet this science does not imply a person is immune to reinfection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in the 3 months following infection. The latest data simply suggests that retesting someone in the 3 months following initial infection is not necessary unless that person is exhibiting the symptoms of COVID-19 and the symptoms cannot be associated with another illness, the CDC statement said.

I think this is an incredibly sticky wicket, as the British would say, said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, who was not involved in the CDC guidance.

We think antibodies correlate with protection, but we dont really know that yet, Schaffner said.

Practical applications, Schaffner added, are still a long way off. Can a person who has antibodies begin to date or stop wearing a mask, for example? Absolutely not, he said emphatically.

Our adaptive immune system, designed to target a specific and previously recognized invader, contains two main cellular components B cells and T cells. Studies on immunity so far have focused mainly on B cells, a type of white blood cell programmed to find and bind to foreign invaders.

Once it has attached itself to a virus such as the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19, a B cell copies itself and churns out antibodies, eventually creating a mega-army of neutralizers for that particular invader, said CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta in an explainer on virus immunity.

Unfortunately, a few recent studies have found that antibodies to this particular coronavirus can fade away pretty quickly especially in people who have had mild cases of Covid-19, Gupta said.

A pre-print paper (meaning it has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal) released in July found antibody responses appear to decline 20 to 30 days after Covid-19 symptoms first appear.

This study has important implications when considering protection against re-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and the durability of vaccine protection, the researchers wrote in the paper.

In June, a small study found that people who have coronavirus infections but never develop symptoms could have weaker immune responses to the virus.

That study found that a group of about three dozen Covid-19 patients who were asymptomatic had levels of antibodies that were significantly lower than what was found among patients who had mild symptoms a finding that suggests the asymptomatic patients had weaker immune responses.

In early July, a Spanish government study found that just 5% of people in Spain have coronavirus antibodies and in a potentially worrying development, the study also indicated that peoples immunity to coronavirus wanes after just a few weeks. The findings show that 95% of Spains population remains susceptible to the virus.

This means that any perceived immunity can be incomplete, transitory and then disappear, said Dr. Raquel Yotti, head of the Carlos III Health Institute, in a news conference at the time. The institute is a key government agency leading the study.

Science is hoping that Covid-19 will also trigger an immune response from another arm of the adaptive immune system T cells. One type, called a memory T cell, helps the body remember a specific invader in case it comes back.

A recent study found such memory T cells in people infected with SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that creates the disease called Covid-19. That finding leads to speculation that some people might get milder cases of Covid-19 because their T-cells are reacting to exposure to similar coronaviruses encountered in the past.

The virus SARS-CoV-2 belongs to a large family of coronaviruses, six of which were previously known to infect humans. Two are deadly: SARS-CoV-1, the virus responsible for the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which ended in 2004; and MERS-CoV, the virus that causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

The other four cause the common cold, and because they circulate widely each year, its possible many people may have already been exposed to one of these so-called cousins of the novel coronavirus.

Theyve been studied and we know that after you had a cold, you develop antibodies to that particular human strain of coronavirus and you will be protected, but it turns out the protection begins to wane after about a year, Schaffner said.

Now when Covid-19 came along, we wondered how much protection are you going to get from this virus? And if you get protection, how long does it last? he added. We dont know that behavior yet.

Another page on the CDC site, updated in June, refers to the uncertainty that exists surrounding the role of antibodies in future infections.

Having antibodies to the virus that causes COVID-19 might provide protection from getting infected with the virus again. If it does, we do not know how much protection the antibodies might provide or how long this protection might last, the CDC says in regard to testing.

Until science knows more about how long immunity lasts, Schaffner advised staying the course of what is known to work: hand-washing, social distancing, avoiding crowds and wearing masks.

Dont go around looking for reasons not to wear the mask, just wear it. Get used to it, Schaffner said. We want to all be in this together to affirm our solidarity.

Editors note: This article has been updated to include comment from CDC clarifying its quarantine guidance.

See the original post here:
Are you immune to COVID-19 for three months after recovering? Its not clear - WTOP

Amid the pandemic, staying healthy is a top priority for most.

CLEVELAND As the state of Ohio continues it's fight against thecoronavirus pandemic, staying healthy seems to be a top priority for everyone.

But outside of washing your hands, not touching your face and proper social distancing, how can you increase your health and overall wellness? The Cleveland Clinic recommends boosting your immune system.

You diet can have a huge impact on your immune Health.

I believe in the power of immune-boosting foods, says Dr. Darling. Choosing whole, unprocessed foods does wonders for overall health, says Preventive medicine physician and wellness expert Sandra Darling.

She suggests adding foods like garlic, prebiotics, vitamin C-rich foods, and antioxidants to your diet to give your system a boost.

Listen, we know it's hard, but living under constant stress is detrimental to the body. Too much stress "cause causes the body to produce too much cortisol, the stress hormone. Over time, elevated cortisol lowers your resistance to fighting off infection and contributes to poor sleep and higher blood pressure," according to the clinic. Dr. Darling suggests making sure you get enough sleep, exercise and try meditation.

A little bit of positivity goes a long way. "Research shows that positive thoughts reduce stress and inflammation and increase resilience to infection while negative emotions can make you more susceptible to the common cold and flu," according to the Clinic.

If you've done all that you can when it comes to taking care of your immune system health, the Clinic recommends trying supplements and or essential oils.

The Clinic also recommends making sure you're taking time for yourself to rest in recharge. There's a lot going on in the world, you can't pour from an empty cup--so fill yours up!

For more information on the Clinic tips and resources, click here.

Continued here:
Cleveland Clinic: Four ways to boost your immune health - WKYC.com

How the immune system responds to the coronavirus is a mystery that scientists are working furiously to unravel but their findings are being weaponized to make unfounded claims that the pandemic isnt a big threat.

That became clear this week, when President Donald Trump unveiled his newest science adviser on the coronavirus task force, neuroradiologist Scott Atlas. A senior fellow at Stanford Universitys Hoover Institution, he has steadily promoted unscientific views about the virus on Fox News and elsewhere, and has said there is zero excuse to not have the schools open in person. On Monday, Rush Limbaugh said Atlas was countering Fauci and cited the new advisers baseless theory that we could well be burned out of COVID by October. The reason: prior immunities.

Also on Monday, an unlicensed ophthalmologist and cryptocurrency investor, James Todaro, went viral on Twitter with a similarly misleading screed. Todaro, who was in the viral Americas Frontline Doctors video shared by Trump and removed from social media platforms for spreading misinformation about hydroxychloroquine, falsely claimed that T cell immunity meant many regions were already safe from infection and that lockdowns and mask-wearing were likely useless.

But infectious disease experts say these claims grossly distort the underlying science and what it means for public health guidelines which, right now, is nothing.

The apparent basis for these statements: a slew of recent studies finding that, in some places, 20% to 50% of people have immune cells that unexpectedly recognize the coronavirus. The newest of these studies suggests that these cells exist because they have responded in the past to similar viruses that can cause colds.

But the significance of this finding remains an open question, as its unclear what role, if any, these cells play in the bodys overall response to the coronavirus. And there is still no evidence that having these cells from a past cold will save you from getting COVID-19.

As T cells become yet another politicized flashpoint, scientists say the bottom line is that none of these findings make COVID-19 any less of a threat. The research should not be used, they warn, to argue against shutdowns and masks or for reopening workplaces and schools in a developed nation that has uniquely failed to control the virus. Most of all, they reject the leap of logic that the research means society is close to herd immunity the point at which enough people are immune to a virus that it stops circulating.

Weve got 1,000 people dying a day in the country, Shane Crotty, an immunologist at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology who has worked on several of the recent T cell studies, told BuzzFeed News. Theres no change in what the virus is doing based on what I find out or anybody else finds out. The virus is doing its thing and were doing our best to understand it.

The claim that T cells could mean the pandemic will end in two months, he said, is a total misunderstanding and wishful thinking.

Since the outset of the pandemic, Crotty and scientists around the world have been racing to untangle how the virus wreaks havoc on the body and how the body fights back.

The immune system employs different mechanisms to recognize and attack intruders. Perhaps the best-known of the bunch are antibodies, the proteins that latch onto and neutralize viruses and other invading substances. But in people who recover from the coronavirus, antibodies may only protect against reinfection for three months, recent research suggests.

Another weapon in the immune systems armory is T cells, which come in an assortment of types and functions and are increasingly garnering scientific attention. In the Netherlands, Germany, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the US, researchers have discovered that in some people, a specific subset of T cells recognized the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, when exposed to it. This was surprising, because these kinds of T cells, by definition, were not expected to recognize a virus they had never encountered before.

In their paper published last week in Science, Crotty and his team reported an explanation for why these cells reacted. Using human blood samples collected prior to the pandemic, they found cells that reacted to both SARS-CoV-2 and to four other coronaviruses that cause common colds. These coronaviruses, the researchers said, were apparently similar enough to the new one to make the T cells cross-reactive. (Crotty likened SARS-CoV-2 to a pretty distantly related evil cousin.)

The finding has led scientists to speculate that these cross-reactive T cells could be behind one of the pandemics biggest mysteries: why the virus causes severe illness in some people but mild or no symptoms in others. The latter patients might be better equipped to handle an infection, having fought off related viruses before. Childrens immune systems have to fight off a lot of colds, so maybe this is why they seem to be relatively spared by the new virus.

For now, however, this theory is just that: a theory.

It could explain everything and it could explain nothing, Crotty said. Very truly, these cells may have no impact on the disease at all. And even if this theory were borne out, it would have significant limits: As he noted, colds are caused by hundreds of viruses, not just the four identified in the study.

Either way, these cells are still just one piece of the immune system, a highly intricate machine with all kinds of T cells and antibodies working independently and together to stamp out pathogens. The big, yet-to-be answered questions are which of these elements actually protect people from getting sick and for how long.

While T cells may offer some protection and thats not really known T cells would probably not just prevent a person from being infected altogether, said Angie Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University who is not involved with this research.

But uncertainty hasnt stopped pundits from twisting the research to make a point.

On July 23, before he was appointed to the White Houses coronavirus task force, Scott Atlas declared on Laura Ingrahams show that lockdowns would not eradicate the virus, that the US outbreak was not out of control, and that there is absolutely no reason to panic, arguments hed been making since the spring. That day, the nations case count passed 4 million.

Theres a lot of great data coming out about immunity, Atlas went on to say. Its probably not known to the public, but there is a lot of data that shows that people have immunity even people that didnt get the infection. He added, Thats probably due to this T cell immunity, and concluded, So I think people should be much more optimistic here. The Fox News host responded enthusiastically, saying shed been discussing T cells and what they could mean for herd immunity on the show for well over six weeks.

This week, Limbaugh cited Atlass theory to tell listeners that the pandemic was almost over. We could see by early October COVID-19 turn inert or dormant largely due to some underappreciated T cell, prior immunities from exposure to coronavirus, meaning colds and so forth, the conservative radio host explained. Some people who have come down with a cold over the course of the summer miraculously end up less likely to get COVID-19, according to Scott Atlas. And people that get colds, thats a large portion of the population.

Atlas directed a request for comment to White House spokesperson Judd Deere, who said in a statement that Atlas is a world renowned physician and scholar of advanced medical care and health care policy who, like all of the medical experts in the Administration, is working to carry out the Presidents number one priority: protecting the health and safety of the American people.

Deere added, We are all in this fight together, and only the media would distort and diminish Dr. Atlas highly acclaimed career simply because he has come to serve the President.

Around the same time Limbaugh was praising Atlass theory, a similar claim was gaining traction on James Todaros Twitter account. Todaro, an early and avid proponent of hydroxychloroquine, is an ophthalmologist who earned his medical degree at Columbia University. He has not practiced since 2018, according to his LinkedIn profile, and his Michigan medical license expired last year. He did not respond to a request for comment.

In his thread, Todaro claimed that Crottys studies and others were growing evidence of T-cell immunity. All those runny noses from the common cold prepared our T cells to fight COVID-19, he proclaimed. He calculated that if about 50% of people had T cell immunity prior to SARS-CoV-2, and an additional 10% to 20% of people were newly infected, then 60% to 70% of the population would be immune a threshold that he said reached herd immunity.

It is likely that many of the hardest hit regions of the world (e.g. Lombardy, NYC, Madrid, London, Stockholm) are now at herd immunity, he wrote. Lockdowns & mask ordinances (mostly coming after the peak) likely had little effect, with the exception of perhaps prolonging the spread.

Thats not at all what the T cell research suggests, however. Having these cells still means you can get infected, only maybe maybe not as badly as if you didnt have them.

Herd immunity implies immunity, not just fewer people getting severe disease, said Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz, an epidemiologist at the University of Wollongong in Australia. That means they do not catch it, do not spread it, they have this immunity that stops them from getting it in the first place.

Even if 50% of the population really were somehow immune to the virus, that wouldnt change the number of people who have been hospitalized and killed by the pandemic. As of Friday, the death toll in the US had exceeded 167,000. It doesnt change anything from the public health side of things, Meyerowitz-Katz said.

Nevertheless, Todaros 19-part thread has been retweeted more than 48,000 times. It has circulated among figures on the right, from a Minnesota state senator to an editor at the Conservative Review to an ex-lawyer who has been retweeted by Trump. Other retweeters included the World Health Organizations director of epidemic and pandemic diseases, and a Scottish historian who shared it with his more than 1 million followers: Interesting thread. And hopeful if true.

Crotty is not a heavy Twitter user he checks it about once a week but he felt compelled to respond once he saw how far the misinformation was spreading. It was just not understanding the science, he said.

He banged out a series of counterpoints, explaining why Todaros claims were dangerous and unfounded. Nothing about his findings, he stressed, should change what the public should already be doing to stem transmission. Wearing a mask is much more effective than hoping you and the people around you have pre-existing T cell memory. Wearing a mask stops infections.

His debunk was retweeted more than 3,700 times, a mere fraction of Todaros reach.

Rasmussen, the Columbia virologist, worried that most people watching Fox News or coming across Todaros tweets would never see Crottys attempt to correct the record. As she put it: Theyre just going to look at, Oh, heres this big thread on T cell immunity. This sounds great. We dont even need to worry about waiting for a vaccine.

And she pointed out that this isnt the first time during the pandemic that seemingly credible sources have injected misinformation into the mainstream.

Weve seen this a few times: People essentially using the clout of their credentials or their affiliations with a prestigious university to get them onto TV basically and amplify these messages, Rasmussen said. The overarching message, as she saw it, is the standard Trump administration downplaying of the severity of the pandemic, saying that this is not as a big of a deal as everybody makes it out to be. Which, of course, the epidemiological evidence of over 160,000 deaths suggests otherwise.

During an interview on Wednesday, it was still dawning on Crotty that his research had suddenly, unwittingly, become another political flashpoint.

2020, the immunologist said. The year when all kinds of unexpected things happen.

More here:
The Right Wing Has A New Theory For Why The Pandemic Will End Soon: T Cells - BuzzFeed News

Theres no guarantee theyll work, but health experts are hopeful that the first vaccine candidates to have reached the final stage of testing might be available as soon as this fall or winter. They still have to convince regulators that theyre safe and effective against the novel coronavirus, and thats the purpose of the large scale Phase 3 studies that are currently underway in the US and around the world. But even if some of these experimental drugs are ready for emergency use by late 2020, the general public wont have access to them until several months later, well into 2021. Logistics and manufacturing issues need to be ironed out before officials can start immunization campaigns, and healthcare professionals will rightfully have access to vaccines before the general public. Even then, only specific high-risk categories of people might qualify for the first round of vaccinations.

Thankfully, the world isnt putting all its eggs in the vaccine basket when it comes to crafting COVID-19 therapies. Several teams of scientists are testing drugs that might cure COVID-19, including a type of medicine that can also provide temporary immunity to healthy people. And the good news is that these new medications that can provide a limited immunity might be ready even before vaccines roll out.

Anyone following pandemic news closely is probably aware that several companies are studying drugs made of artificial antibodies. The so-called monoclonal antibodies aim to block the coronavirus from infecting cells. Theyre crafted using various technologies, but the purpose is the same. The antibodies can bind to the spike proteins found on the exterior of the virus and prevent them from linking up with cells. This is how the immune system works against any pathogen it creates neutralizing antibodies that can annihilate it.

Vaccines will teach the human body to prepare for COVID-19 by mimicking the virus and inducing neutralizing antibodies. Thats how long-term immunity can be obtained. Its unclear how long the protection will last, but vaccine immunity should significantly outlast monoclonal antibody immunity. Thats because the artificial antibodies provide immunity themselves and the protection is only good as long theres a circulating supply in the bloodstream. Once they vanish, the body wont know how to make more antibodies when needed, which is what would happen after vaccination or after surviving the illness.

Monoclonal antibodies do have one significant advantage over vaccines. They can help COVID-19 patients recover, while vaccines can only prevent an infection. Plasma experiments have shown that antibodies from COVID-19 survivors can significantly improve the condition of COVID-19 patients. Monoclonal antibodies would work the same way. Theyll hopefully prevent complications and deaths, and they should also speed up recovery times.

These drugs could become a crucial tool in the coming months and could deliver results long before vaccines are widely available.

A vaccine takes time to work, to force the development of antibodies. But when you give an antibody, you get immediate protection, University of North Carolina virologist Dr. Myron Cohen told The Associated Press. If we can generate them in large concentrations, in big vats in an antibody factory we can kind of bypass the immune system.

These drugs would be a really momentous thing in our fight against COVID, the doctor said.

The AP story runs through the various monoclonal antibody drugs that are currently in testing, some of which weve covered before. Eli Lilly has already started manufacturing its drug in the hopes that current studies will prove its effectiveness. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals already inked a $450 million deal with the US governmentand its making a dual antibody compound that should work even if the virus mutates.

Amgen, Adaptive Biotechnologies, Tychan, and Vir Biotechnology have also crafted various monoclonal antibodies that might work against COVID-19. Another team of scientists created antibody-like nanobodies and turned them into an aerosol that could be used with a nebulizer or inhaler.

Some of the drugs would be administered intravenously, and the antibody supply could last as long as a month for some candidates, but the protection could be extended to two months by increasing the dose. Subsequent shots would be needed to prolong the protection. Its unclear how much these drugs will cost or how soon theyll be available, but all sorts of clinical trials are already underway. Some are looking at monoclonal antibody drugs as treatment for COVID-19, while others are studying their capability to provide limited immunity to at-risk patients.

Dr. Anthony Fauci is cautiously optimistic about these drugs, just like with vaccines. Im heartened by the experience that we had with Ebola, he said. Its the success with our Ebola program that gives Regeneron hope that we can potentially do this again.

Chris Smith started writing about gadgets as a hobby, and before he knew it he was sharing his views on tech stuff with readers around the world. Whenever he's not writing about gadgets he miserably fails to stay away from them, although he desperately tries. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

View original post here:
These groundbreaking drugs will give us coronavirus immunity until vaccines are ready - BGR

It is the dream of both doctors and politicians: an existing vaccine, the safety of which has already been established and which can induce immunity to COVID-19. Part of the dream is already coming true, according to research by Radboudumc in Nijmegen. A vaccine against tuberculosis that has been used for years appears to have a general stimulating effect on the immune system. It, therefore, works effectively against several diseases. It remains to be seen whether COVID-19 is one of those.

The study compared groups of volunteers who may or may not have received a BCG vaccine in the last five years (before the corona pandemic) and showed that the vaccine is at least safe and does not pose any additional risk of COVID-19 complaints. The results of this study have now been published in Cell Reports Medicine.

The Bacille Calmette-Gurin or BCG vaccine is the most widely received vaccine in the world. Originally intended as a treatment for tuberculosis, it later became clear that it gives a long-term, general boost to the innate immune system. As a result, the vaccine also proved effective against other conditions. At the Radboudumc, Professor of Experimental Internal Medicine Mihai Netea does a lot of research into this effect, which is called trained immunity.

Most volunteers received the vaccine between April 2017 and June 2018. Doctor PhD student and first author of the article Simone Moorlag explains that the purpose of that study was to determine the difference in immune response between individuals. Weve now asked the same volunteers about disease and COVID-19 complaints during the coronary pandemic. We then compared these data with those of a group of healthy volunteers who did not receive a BCG vaccine.

What the comparison between the groups shows is that at least those who have received the vaccine have not become ill more often or have become more seriously ill. Therefore, the researchers conclude, it cant do any harm to vaccinate people with BCG. The data show a cautiously positive picture, with a lower number of sick people in the period March-May 2020 among the vaccinated group, and also fewer fatigue complaints.

For bigger conclusions, it is still too early. The researchers underline that the positive result was to be expected in view of the generally known effects of the BCG vaccine on healthy volunteers. Moreover, the study also has limitations that prevent conclusions from being drawn about the usefulness of the BCG vaccine for the coronavirus. Mihai Netea: It is very important to be able to confirm that someone who has been vaccinated with BCG does not experience any adverse effects during the COVID-19 pandemic. But he also stresses that more study is needed to determine if this vaccination against COVID-19 can really help.

In order to be able to determine this, various studies are already underway, including a number of major studies in the Netherlands.

Read more:
Study: existing tuberculosis vaccine is safe, stimulates the immune system, and may also be effective against COVID-19 - Innovation Origins

He immune system it is responsible for attacking and destroying bacteria, viruses and all infectious organisms that try to penetrate the body. But like any defense mechanism it requires good maintenance to strengthen it.

Spinach, lettuce, carrot, pumpkin, tomato, beet, strawberries and cherries. Source of Vitamin A, responsible for the production of cells immune known as T lymphocytes.

Foods rich in vitamin B12 Vegetables source of vitamin C

Fish, poultry, eggs, milk, derivatives of dairy products and legumes. Rich in b12 vitamin, key in the maintenance of the central nervous system and in the proper functioning of the body.

Vegetables source of vitamin C

Green leafy vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and bell peppers, citrus fruits like orange, lemon, tangerine, kiwi and apple. Source of vitamin C, responsible for preventing the entry of infections through the respiratory tract.

Nuts (peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts and pine nuts), asparagus, fish and olive, sunflower, rapeseed, wheat germ and hazelnut oils. Rich in Vitamin E, has antioxidant properties and its function is to strengthen the immune system.

Go here to read the rest:
These are the foods that strengthen your immune system.Dont stop consuming them! - Explica

ByYOLANDA POFFENROTH and MICHAEL BROWN

Permanent hearing loss triggered by a common chemotherapy drug in half of children being treated for cancer may occur through a well-studied immune receptor, according to University of Alberta research.

The study confirms a long-held belief and sets the stage for the development of safe doses tailored to each childs genetic makeup.

For the study, recently posted in bioRxiv, Ghazal Babolmorad, a PhD student in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, focused her research on the immune response children with cancer have to cisplatin, a platinum-based chemotherapy drug that is highly effective in fighting the disease, but leads to serious side effects in 90 per cent of patients. These side effects include kidney and heart damage as well as permanent hearing loss in upwards of 60 per cent of children.

If were able make cisplatin, an otherwise invaluable chemotherapeutic tool, safe for everyonenot just low-risk patientsit could be a game-changer for the quality of life of the children using cisplatin as their cancer therapy, said Babolmorad.

The platinum atom at the centre of cisplatin is responsible for killing cancer cells, but can also activate an immune receptor in the cell membrane, known as TLR4, that experts have long thought plays a role in inflammation. Immune receptors are proteins that detect the presence of a pathogenor something wrong, like a cancer celland generate a signal to combat the pathogen.

The inflammation caused by the immune receptor that Babolmorad and her supervisor Amit Bhavsar were interested in occurs in the cochlea and results in damage to the auditory cells and, ultimately, hearing loss.

To better understand the mechanism behind this inflammation, th team treated two groups of auditory hair cell linessimilar to the ones found in human ears responsible for perceiving soundthat were essentially identical, except one of them lacked the TLR4 immune receptor, with platinum.

As expected, we only saw signals arise in the cells with TLR4, said Babolmorad. Basically, platinum, and cisplatin by extension, can activate the TLR4 immune receptor, which causes a response in the immune systemlike inflammation in the cochlea.

However, thanks to genetic variation, there are people who express a low level of this immune receptor, which means their immune system isnt activated and they have a low risk of developing hearing loss, said Babolmorad.

Babolmorad is now working with other U of A researchers, including groups led by chemistry professor Fred West and biology professor Ted Allison, to examine potential synthetic inhibitors that can block the TLR4 receptors.

Ghazal Babolmorads Graduate Studentship project is funded by the Stollery Childrens Hospital Foundation through the Women and Childrens Health Research Institute.

Read the rest here:
Immune receptor thought to be linked to hearing loss in child cancer survivors confirmed in new study - Folio - University of Alberta

This is not the first time Hovis has responded to consumer demands. In 2018 itlaunchedtwo new premium bread loavesin a bid to cater to the growing consumer demand for sourdough and seeded variants.

Glorious Grains is baked with seven different types of sprouted wholegrains, including rye, wheat, spelt, oats, barley, buckwheat and teff. The bread contains natural sources of copper, minerals including magnesium and phosphorus, and vitamin B1, said the firm.

Health-focused

Hovis Glorious Grains is the latest addition to Hovis health-focused range and follows the launch of Hovis Fabulous Fibre, a high-fibre option aimed at improving gut health.

Having listened to consumer demands, we are excited to launch our delicious new Glorious Grains loaf, which contains minerals and vitamin B1 and helps to support the immune system,saidNina Shanahan, head of marketing for Hovis

This is a great addition to our health-focused range which includes HovisFabulous Fibre, helping consumers reach the daily target fibre intake without compromising on taste. With more consumers demanding bread with additional nutritional benefits, Hovisis pleased to be able to answer these needs through our delicious and wholesome range.

Tackling food wast

Hovis said it has also been working to tackle hunger and food waste through donating to FareShare, the UK's largest and longest-running food redistribution charity. By July, Hovishad donated more than 95,000 loaves through FareShare.

In December 2019,Hovis signed up to the Trade Union Congress (TUC)Dying to Work charterin a bid to more effectively support employees affected by terminal illness.

Hovis Glorious Grains and Hovis Fabulous Fibre will be available in Sainsburys, Morrisons, Waitrose and Tesco in July. Hovis Fabulous Fibre is already on shelves in Tesco and Waitrose.

Go here to read the rest:
Baker launches bread to support the immune-system - FoodManufacture.co.uk

COVID-19 cases continue to rise, and now most people are worried they will get the virus. But with a boosted immune system, contracting that virus is less-likely.

Lonnie Schwirtlich, M.D., Chief Medical Officer and Co-Owner of Physicians Premier, says "the people that come into our facilities, 20-30 percent of them are positive. These people then leave and go out there, theyre accidentally and sometimes - just carelessly, spreading this virus around."

Dr. Schwirtlich believes having a strong immune system will help protect many against the virus.

He says, first you want to protect your immune system from having to work so hard.

"In boosting your immunity, is to try and do everything so that you dont need to use that immunity," he said. "Obviously thats the spacing, staying away from big groups, staying away from closed rooms."

Then, boosting your immunity, begins with daily exercise. Dr. Shwirtlich says getting the heart rate up and warming up the body helps fight off the virus. Not to mention, releases stress and helps with blood sugar.

He says, you must remember to wash and sanitize whenever you touch objects. Especially wash your hands before touching your face or eating food.

Dr. Schwirtlich believes not smoking and vaping will also help tremendously, because then you are not inhaling particles in the air.

He said to also be mindful of alcohol consumption. The more we drink, the less our immune system works.

And he said to take daily vitamins, especially vitamin C and Zinc.

"Zinc actually, if it can get inside the cell, it helps stop replication of the virus," said Schwirtlich. He also states that for some patients who have been exposed or had a positive test, health experts were recommending 1000mg of vitamin C a couple times a day and 50 mg of Zinc per day.

Dr. Schwirtlich also believes using melatonin, tumeric and elderberry can help boost your immunity. He does say that taking vitamins could cause nausea.

With the boost in immunity, he says this could help lower the amount of cases. He believes Corpus Christi has not hit its peak just yet.

"We do need more hospital beds right now, and thats the difficult thing were dealing with. Is trying to be able to keep the number that are crashing and need to go into the hospital down to the point where we can tolerate it and be able to give them the best care possible."

Read more:
Ways to boost your immune system to prevent COVID-19 - KZTV Action 10 News

We need to understand our bodys immune system before washing our hands, maintaining social distance or taking precaution before sneezing. We have our skin, snot (mucus in the nose) microbiome and helpful bugs (gut bacteria) which compete with pathogens for food and space. These, in totality, make antimicrobial products and anti-viral compounds that are quite hostile to deadly viruses, including coronavirus.

If the pathogens move beyond, then the white blood cells attack them. There are others, which we term as vaccine, which confront the germs without our knowledge. This happens when we get immunity, which is the base of vaccination. It bypasses the defence system and protects the body with its own memory system so that we dont fall sick. At times, our immune system might get some blind spots, which means they dont recognise the bugs or the bugs might have evasion strategies. A healthy body and system ensures a good defence system.

Our bodies contain more cells belonging to microbes, such as bacteria and yeasts, termed as microbiome the gut bacteria. We live in a symbiotic relationship with our gut bacteria. Having the right ones around, that we evolved with, is best for our health. If we do anything that alters the ecosystem of these microbiome, its detrimental or bad for our immune system.

Not only do our microbes form protective barriers, they also programme our immune system. Older people, and those with diseases that are characterised by inflammation such as allergies, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes tend to have less varied gut microbiomes.

To feed our gut microbiomes, we need more varied diet with lots of high-fibre foods. Being vegetarian isnt a pre-requisite for microbiomes health, but the more plant food one consumes, the better. The gut microbiome likes fibre, pulses and fermented food.

Yoghurt (curd) and pickles are among common fermented delicacies which are coming back to the Indian plates and helping a healthy microbiome. It has to be a continuous process, and not for just a few days or as a fashionable touch. It should be a permanent fixture. We have our own fermented rice pancake (pitha), which has disappeared from the Odisha kitchen.

Read the original post:
Boost Your Immune System To Keep At Bay Deadly Viruses Like The Corona - OdishaBytes

Wait. I can catch Covid twice? my 50-year-old patient asked in disbelief. It was the beginning of July, and he had just tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, for a second time three months after a previous infection.

While theres still much we dont understand about immunity to this new illness, a small but growing number of cases like his suggest the answer is yes.

Covid-19 may also be much worse the second time around. During his first infection, my patient experienced a mild cough and sore throat. His second infection, in contrast, was marked by a high fever, shortness of breath, and hypoxia, resulting in multiple trips to the hospital.

Recent reports and conversations with physician colleagues suggest my patient is not alone. Two patients in New Jersey, for instance, appear to have contracted Covid-19 a second time almost two months after fully recovering from their first infection.

It is possible, but unlikely, that my patient had a single infection that lasted three months. Some Covid-19 patients (now dubbed long haulers) do appear to suffer persistent infections and symptoms.

My patient, however, cleared his infection he had two negative PCR tests after his first infection and felt healthy for nearly six weeks.

I believe it is far more likely that my patient fully recovered from his first infection, then caught Covid-19 a second time after being exposed to a young adult family member with the virus. He was unable to get an antibody test after his first infection, so we do not know whether his immune system mounted an effective antibody response or not.

Regardless, the limited research so far on recovered Covid-19 patients shows that not all patients develop antibodies after infection. Some patients, and particularly those who never develop symptoms, mount an antibody response immediately after infection only to have it wane quickly afterward an issue of increasing scientific concern.

Whats more, repeat infections in a short time period are a feature of many viruses, including other coronaviruses. So if some Covid-19 patients are getting reinfected after a second exposure, it would not be particularly unusual.

In general, the unknowns of immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 currently outweigh the knowns. We do not know how much immunity to expect once someone is infected with the virus, we do not know how long that immunity may last, and we do not know how many antibodies are needed to mount an effective response. And although there is some hope regarding cellular immunity (including T-cell responses) in the absence of a durable antibody response, the early evidence of reinfections puts the effectiveness of these immune responses in question as well.

Also troubling is that my patients case, and others like his, may dim the hope for natural herd immunity. Herd immunity depends on the theory that our immune systems, once exposed to a pathogen, will collectively protect us as a community from reinfection and further spread.

There are several pathways out of this pandemic, including safe, effective, and available therapeutics and vaccines, as well as herd immunity (or some combination thereof).

Experts generally consider natural herd immunity a worst-case scenario back-up plan. It requires mass infection (and, in the case of Covid-19, massive loss of life because of the diseases fatality rate) before protection takes hold. Herd immunity was promoted by experts in Sweden and (early on in the pandemic) in the UK, with devastating results.

Still, the dream of herd immunity, and the protection of a Covid-19 infection, or a positive antibody test, promise to provide, have taken hold among the public. As the collective reasoning has gone, the silver lining of surviving a Covid-19 infection (without debilitating side effects) is twofold: Survivors will not get infected again, nor will they pose a threat of passing the virus to their communities, workplaces, and loved ones.

While recent studies and reports have already questioned our ability to achieve herd immunity, our national discourse retains an implicit hope that herd immunity is possible. In recent weeks, leading medical experts have implied that the current surge in cases might lead to herd immunity by early 2021, and a July 6 opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal was similarly optimistic.

This wishful thinking is harmful. It risks incentivizing bad behavior. The rare but concerning Covid parties, where people are gathering to deliberately get infected with the virus, and large gatherings without masks, are considered by some to be the fastest way out of the pandemic, personally and as a community. Rather than trying to wish ourselves out of scientific realities, we must acknowledge the mounting evidence that challenges these ideas.

In my opinion, my patients experience serves as a warning sign on several fronts.

First, the trajectory of a moderate initial infection followed by a severe reinfection suggests that this novel coronavirus might share some tendencies of other viruses such as dengue fever, where you can suffer more severe illness each time you contract the disease.

Second, despite scientific hopes for either antibody-mediated or cellular immunity, the severity of my patients second bout with Covid-19 suggests that such responses may not be as robust as we hope.

Third, many people may let their guard down after being infected, because they believe they are either immune or incapable of contributing to community spread. As my patients case demonstrates, these assumptions risk both their own health and the health of those near them.

Last, if reinfection is possible on such a short timeline, there are implications for the efficacy and durability of vaccines developed to fight the disease.

I am aware that my patient represents a sample size of one, but taken together with other emerging examples, outlier stories like his are a warning sign of a potential pattern. If my patient is not, in fact, an exception, but instead proves the rule, then many people could catch Covid-19 more than once, and with unpredictable severity.

With no certainty of personal immunity nor relief through herd immunity, the hard work of beating this pandemic together continues. Our efforts must go beyond simply waiting for effective treatments and vaccines. They must include continued prevention through the use of medically proven face masks, face shields, hand washing, and physical distancing, as well as wide-scale testing, tracing, and isolation of new cases.

This is a novel disease: Learning curves are steep, and we must pay attention to the inconvenient truths as they arise. Natural herd immunity is almost certainly beyond our grasp. We cannot place our hopes on it.

D. Clay Ackerly, MD, MSc is an internal medicine and primary care physician practicing in Washington, DC.

Support Voxs explanatory journalism

Every day at Vox, we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you, and our audience around the world, with information that has the power to save lives. Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower you through understanding. Voxs work is reaching more people than ever, but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles, videos, and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires. Please consider making a contribution to Vox today.

Follow this link:
Getting Covid-19 twice: Why I think my patient was reinfected - Vox.com

Global Supplements for Immune System market- Report defines the vital growth factors, opportunities and market segment of top players during the forecast period from 2019 to 2025. The report Supplements for Immune System offers a complete market outlook and development rate during the past, present, and the forecast period, with concise study, Supplements for Immune System market effectively defines the market value, volume, price trend, and development opportunities. The comprehensive, versatile and up-to-date information on Supplements for Immune System market is provided in this report.

The latest research report on Supplements for Immune System market encompasses a detailed compilation of this industry, and a creditable overview of its segmentation. In short, the study incorporates a generic overview of the Supplements for Immune System market based on its current status and market size, in terms of volume and returns. The study also comprises a summary of important data considering the geographical terrain of the industry as well as the industry players that seem to have achieved a powerful status across the Supplements for Immune System market.

Get PDF Sample Copy of this Report to understand the structure of the complete report: (Including Full TOC, List of Tables & Figures, Chart) @ https://www.researchmoz.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=2699718&source=atm

Segment by Type, the Supplements for Immune System market is segmented into Soft Gels/Pills, Powder, Liquid, etc.Segment by Application, the Supplements for Immune System market is segmented into Online Sales, Offline Sales, etc.

Regional and Country-level AnalysisThe report offers exhaustive assessment of different region-wise and country-wise Supplements for Immune System markets such as the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, the U.K., Italy, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey, etc.The report includes country-wise and region-wise market size for the period 2015-2026, by countries (regions), by Type, and by Application, as well as by players for North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Middle East & Africa.

Competitive Landscape and Supplements for Immune System Market Share AnalysisSupplements for Immune System market competitive landscape provides details and data information by vendors. The report offers comprehensive analysis and accurate statistics on revenue by the player for the period 2015-2020. It also offers detailed analysis supported by reliable statistics on revenue (global and regional level) by players for the period 2015-2020. Details included are company description, major business, company total revenue and revenue generated in Supplements for Immune System business, the date to enter into the Supplements for Immune System market, Supplements for Immune System product introduction, recent developments, etc.The major vendors include Amway, Bayer AG, INFINITUS, PERFECT (CHINA), Swisse, GNC, USANA Health Sciences, Glanbia, Suntory, China New Era Group, Herbalife Nutrition, Blackmores, By-health, etc.

Do You Have Any Query Or Specific Requirement? Ask to Our Industry [emailprotected] https://www.researchmoz.com/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=2699718&source=atm

Complete Analysis of the Supplements for Immune System Market:

Comprehensive assessable analysis of the industry is provided for the period of 2019-2025 to help investors to capitalize on the essential market opportunities.

The key findings and recommendations highlight vital progressive industry trends in the global Supplements for Immune System market, thereby allowing players to improve effective long term policies

A complete analysis of the factors that drive market evolution is provided in the report.

To analyze opportunities in the market for stakeholders by categorizing the high-growth segments of the market

The numerous opportunities in the Supplements for Immune System market are also given.

You can Buy This Report from Here @ https://www.researchmoz.com/checkout?rep_id=2699718&licType=S&source=atm

Furthermore, Global Supplements for Immune System Market following points are involved along with a detailed study of each point:

Generation of this Global Supplements for Immune System Industry is tested about applications, types, and regions with price analysis of players that are covered.

Revenue, sales are planned for this Supplements for Immune System market, including with various essentials along yet another facet is assessed in this section for foremost regions.

In continuation using earnings, this section studies consumption, and global Supplements for Immune System market. This area also sheds light on the variance between ingestion and distribution. Export and Supplements for Immune System significance data are provided in this part.

In this section, key players have been studied depending on product portfolio, their Supplements for Immune System market company profile, volume, price, price, and earnings.

Supplements for Immune System market analysis aside from business, the information, and supply, contact information from manufacturers, consumers and providers can also be presented. Additionally, a feasibility study to asset and SWOT analysis for endeavors have been contained.

Visit link:
Supplements for Immune System Market : The report gives immense knowledge on the competitive nature of key players - 3rd Watch News

Highlights

Are you being forced to sip on a warm kadha in place of evening tea, or gulp down lemon water in place of cold drink, or end your day with haldi wala doodh? Believe us, this is the story of every household these days. The Coronavirus pandemic made us realise the importance of having a good immunity and parents are straining every nerve to ensure building immunity in children and family members. Some may be doing it with discretion while some may be going that extra mile making hasty decisions based on hearsay.

If you don't know how much you should be having these immunity-boosting drinks, don't worry. We consulted some nutritionists to crack the code for you. They gave us some tips and some dos and don'ts to get rid of our confusion and mystery around these homemade immunity boosters.

The many benefits of drinking kadha every day have been doing the rounds of late. It is made by boiling a range of whole spices in water for some time, straining it and drinking it like tea. Spices like cinnamon, cardamom, peppercorns, cloves, cumin etc. are used to make this all-spiced tea. It is believed that these Indian spices have an innate ability to boost our immune system. This may be true except these very spices are also very hot in nature. Clinical nutritionist Ishi Khosla warns, "over-consumption of such spices may lead to other health issues like stomach problems, digestion problems, nausea and skin dryness. She advises against drinking kadha every day or giving it a break for a few days after having it continuously for a long time." Having it every alternate day couple of times a week may sound like a good plan!

(Also Read: ThisKadha May Be The Ideal Drink To Have Right Now For Good Immunity)

Kadha is made by boiling whole spices in water.

Turmeric (or haldi) is a gem of a food. It is true it greatly helps in building one's immunity but the same logic of over-consumption applies to turmeric as well. Ishi Khosla says, "if you want to have haldi wala doodh every day, you can, but make sure to add just a pinch of turmeric in your drink."

Turmeric milk is excellent for boosting immunity.

Lemon is a great source of vitamin C that plays a huge role in boosting the immune system, along with providing many other health benefits. Consultant Nutritionist Rupali Dutta says, "you can have the juice of up to 2 lemons a day for good health and strong immunity." However, you should know that lemon contains a high amount of citric acid which may affect the alkaline content of our body. Bangalore-based Nutritionist Dr. Anju Sood warns, "You should not have lemon juice if you are suffering from any gastric stress or extreme acid reflux."

(Also Read:5 Effective Vitamin C Drinks You Can Add To Your Immunity-Boosting Diet)

Lemon water is a good source of vitamin C.

Stay healthy and safe with good immunity. But, don't make any rash diet mistakes that may do more harm than good.

About Neha GroverLove for reading roused her writing instincts. Neha is guilty of having a deep-set fixation with anything caffeinated. When she is not pouring out her nest of thoughts onto the screen, you can see her reading while sipping on coffee.

Continue reading here:
Should You Have Immunity-Boosting Kadha, Turmeric Milk, Lemon Water Every Day? Experts Bust Some Myths - NDTV Food

The author, Dr Manoj Kutteri, is the Wellness Director at Atmantan and has more than 20 years of experience in developing wellness programmes across India and overseas. He has extensive knowledge in mind-body medicine, Naturopathy, Ayurveda, Nutrition, Acupuncture, Yoga and Physical culture.

Image: 123RF

The immune system is our in-built army of cells and proteins that detects, registers and protects the body against any foreign bodies that may have invaded or entered it. It is responsible for keeping us healthy and illness free. The strength of the immune system determines the capacity of a person to tackle various physical, emotional, and environmental challenges.

With the COVID-19 pandemic spreading rampantly across the world, we need to focus on building up our immunity and actively seek a mindful lifestyle. However, it is not as easy as it sounds. The immune system is a complex mesh of several kinds of cells, each playing their role in defending the body against harmful microbes.

Image: 123RF

In addition to Naturopathic practices, here are small steps that you can take which reap astoundingly positive results:

The clich is true; your body is a temple, and you have to be careful of what you're feeding it.

While a once in a blue moon cheat day won't hurt, unmindful eating habits are the core reason for stunting the growth of your immune system. Nourish your body with vitamin-rich foods and give it sufficient amounts of fibre. Remember your immune system has nothing to do with the way your body looks.

For a healthy liver, cruciferous vegetables like Kale, Broccoli and Cabbage should be included in daily diet. A healthy liver ensures the body's natural detoxification process.

Getting your sleep cycle in sync is one of the biggest gifts you can give your body. The body requires about 8 hours of sound sleep to rejuvenate and reboot its systems. It has to be kept in mind that it's not only 8 hours of sleep, but the timely hours of sleep that matter too.

Often, we stress ourselves by staying up till 3 am thereby disrupting the normal functioning of our body that leads to obesity, stress, emotional imbalance and other illnesses.

Working out regularly has been scientifically proven to boost the immune system. Regular exercise mobilises the T cells, a type of white blood cell which guards the body against infection.

However, continuous rigorous workout weakens the immune system, leaving you prone to flu and viral infections. Low level of Vitamin D in the body has been termed as one of the significant reasons for respiratory problems. A brisk walk in the sunlight for 1015 minutes will ensure that enough Vitamin D is produced in the body.

These are simple but highly effective tweaks in your daily routine. The key is listening carefully to your body and conscious living, consistently.

Also Read: Yoga And Ayurveda For All-Natural Health During The COVID-19 Pandemic

Link:
3 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Help Boost Your Immunity - Femina