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Stunning CDC Admission: 75% of COVID-19 Deaths “Had Four or More Comorbidities”

AHA Publisher — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 08:00:02 +0000

Sara Middleton via NaturalHealth365 – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hospital systems, and doctors are finally talking about the difference between dying with COVID and dying of COVID. This distinction wasn’t made for nearly two years — but officials didn’t shy away from using inconclusive reports of “COVID deaths” and cases as justification for harmful lockdowns. But now the mainstream narrative appears to be shifting dramatically, with officials finally admitting that being COVID-positive at the time of death is not necessarily proof that COVID was the cause of death and that comorbidities must be acknowledged. Chronically Unwell People Significantly More Likely to Die With COVID-19 – But Only NOW the CDC Acknowledges This important and Obvious Reality CDC director Rochelle Walensky recently said on public television that “the overwhelming number of [COVID] deaths, over 75%, occurred in people who had at least four comorbidities.” While she was citing a study that referred specifically to jabbed people who had contracted COVID-19 and passed away, it’s not hard to infer that unvaxxed individuals with multiple comorbidities are also at increased risk of death – with or without COVID. [This admission] does make one wonder: what else are officials suppressing or lying about? Followers of mainstream media quickly defend these shifting narratives and admissions from U.S. officials by saying that messages change because “the science changes.” The problem with this argument is that it ignores the reality that thousands of people – including highly accredited doctors and researchers from around the world – have been silenced for making these points all along. Here Are other Inconsistencies We’ve Seen Throughout the Pandemic Admitting that COVID-positive deaths do not necessarily mean deaths due to COVID is a huge shift from mainstream messaging. And as of February 2, 2022, hospitals will no longer be required to report the number of daily COVID-positive deaths to the federal government, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). That’s a huge change, especially considering that COVID deaths were blasted all over the news screens for months in an attempt to drive fear and garner support for lockdowns. Other facts that U.S. officials and mainstream media now seem suddenly willing to report: PCR tests are inaccurate, and people can test positive for COVID-19 for up to 12 weeks after recovering from an infection Most masks are ineffective The COVID shots themselves – originally sold to the public as a necessity to “stop transmission” and “end the pandemic” – are actually not able to stop viral transmission for millions of people, and are dramatically less effective than than Pharma-funded trial data originally suggested These Are the Comorbidities Associated With Severe COVID-19 In case you were wondering, comorbidities simply mean that a patient has more than one chronic health condition. According to the CDC, current meta-analyses and systematic reviews suggest that the following health conditions or comorbidities are associated with a higher risk of severe COVID-19 illness: Cancer Cerebrovascular disease Chronic kidney disease Chronic lung diseases including COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), pulmonary embolism, pulmonary hypertension, and interstitial lung disease Chronic liver diseases including cirrhosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), alcoholic liver disease, and autoimmune hepatitis Type 1 and 2 diabetes Heart conditions including heart failure, coronary artery disease, and cardiomyopathy Mental health disorders including depression and other mood disorders and schizophrenia Obesity (which the CDC defines as a BMI ≥30 kg/m2) Pregnancy and recent pregnancy Active and former smoking Tuberculosis Other health conditions, including HIV, Down syndrome, dementia, and substance use disorders, have more limited evidence connecting them to an increased risk of severe COVID-19 illness, and research is ultimately ongoing. However, the underlying message is clear: if someone is chronically unhealthy, they are significantly more at risk of a severe or fatal case of COVID-19. But remember: just because someone has COVID at the time of their death doesn’t prove that COVID was the actual cause of death – and the fact that the CDC and other officials suddenly seem so willing to discuss this now is suspect. No clear word yet on whether people who were banned for saying similar things last year on social media will be re-platformed. Sources for this article include: Washingtonexaminer.com WSWS.org Uptodate.com CDC.gov CDC.gov This article has been modified. To read the original article click here.

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Science-Backed Benefits of Forest Walking That Will Surprise You

AHA Publisher — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 07:00:04 +0000

Karen Sanders via NaturalHealth365 – There is strong scientific evidence coming out of Japan about the anticancer effects of shinrin-yoku or forest bathing. In fact, according to Dr. Qing Li – one of the world’s foremost experts on shinrin-yoku, forest walking may prevent chronic illnesses like cancer, reduce blood pressure, heart rate, and stress hormones. Chronic stress slowly kills. Environmental toxins like car fumes and industrial wastes, processed foods, and EMF pollution increase our cortisol levels and the risk for disease. Bottom line, most people in modern society are stressed out and need to relax – much more. A Growing Body of Evidence Supports the Idea of Getting Out in Nature May Just Be What You Need There’s simply no debate – forest bathing provides a natural environment of grass, trees, and fresh air – which can literally bring you back to life. Thankfully, there is mounting scientific data to prove that being in contact with nature is good for us physically, emotionally, and mentally. Naturally, it is widely thought that leaving the noise and stress of everyday life and spending more time in nature is good for us. Researchers have now been putting this understanding to the test. Unfortunately, only until recently, the practice of walking in the woods was never really investigated using laboratory equipment. Medical Studies Prove Forest Walking Offers Multiple Health Benefits The studies which began in Japan sought to find the physiological impact of forest bathing. Dr. Li, an associate professor at Nippon Medical School in Tokyo and current president of the Japanese Society of Forest Medicine, has conducted experiments to test forest bathing on human health. The studies found favorable effects on mood, stress level, and immune function. The scientists in Japan back up the work done by Boris Tokin, a Russian researcher, who discovered trees and other plants actually release chemicals called phytoncides. This chemical protects plants from harmful pathogens and can offer significant health benefits to humans. How Does Forest Walking Reduce Cancer Risk? The profile of the Mood States test showed that forest bathing trips significantly increased vigor in test subjects – while decreasing anxiety, depression, and anger. This factor alone was shown to decrease the risk of stress-related diseases like heart disease and cancer. The studies on immune system function showed an increase in the activity of natural killer (NK) cells – a component of the immune system in charge of preventing cancer. Wouldn’t it be nice if every (conventionally-trained) oncologist talked to their patients about this? Here Is One of the Best Studies to Date In one particular study, subjects experienced a 3-day/2-night trip to three different Japanese forests. Prior to the forest visit, the same subjects participated in a city tourist visit – consisting of a 3-day/2-night trip to Nagoya city, which had very few trees. The class of hotel and the lifestyle of the subjects during the stays in the hotels were the same for the city and forest trips. The walking courses of both trips were 2.5 km. Interestingly, the city tourist visit did not increase participants’ natural killer cell activity or the expression of selected intracellular perforin (more about this in a moment). These findings showed that forest bathing trips did increase natural killer cell activity, the number of NK cells, and the levels of perforin. You may be wondering – what is perforin? It’s actually a protein, known for breaking into cells that have been taken over by a virus or turned into a cancerous cell and allowing toxic enzymes in. This process destroys the cell from within. But, without this protein, the immune system can’t destroy rogue cells. Breathing in This Unique Chemical Compound May Be Responsible for Anticancer Effect Dr. Li attributes the increase in NK activity partly to breathing in air containing phytoncide – an essential oil from the wood – like α-pinene and limonene, which are antimicrobial volatile organic compounds emitted from trees to protect them from rotting and insects. By the way, phytoncides are natural preservatives and fungicides, classified as antimicrobial volatile organic compounds, and can also be used as essential oils in aromatherapy. These phytoncides induce NK cell activity, which kills tumor cells by releasing anticancer proteins. In fact, it’s been shown that ‘forest bathers’ have increased this activity by 50%. So, it makes sense, living in heavily forested areas is associated with a decreased risk of early mortality and cancer. For example, researchers compiled data from several major cities in Japan and found that populations that lived in areas with more trees had a decreased rate of several different types of cancer. Forest Walking Offers Immediate POSITIVE Results Walking in a forest or park strengthens your white blood cells, lowers your heart rate, reduces blood pressure and decreases the stress hormone – cortisol. By breathing in the aroma of the plants – we are saturating our body with chemicals known for their ability to prevent infections, viruses, and cancer. So, remember, the next time you’re in the forest – hug a tree and take a deep breath, because it may just save your life. Sources for this article: NIH.gov ScienceDaily.com hphpcentral.com smh.com.au To read the original article click here. For more articles from NaturalHealth365 click here.

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Super Sanitizing in the Age of COVID: Can You Be Too Clean?

AHA Publisher — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 08:00:20 +0000

Lorie Johnson via CBN News – In the last decade, health experts touted the benefits of having plenty of good bacteria in the gut. They say having a diverse gut microbiome strengthens the immune system. As it turns out, a diverse microbiome in our environment operates the same way. In other words, there are plenty of good bugs all around us that can help us fight off disease. However, during the COVID pandemic more than ever before, many of the good bugs in our environment are being wiped out with high-powered cleansers like antibacterial agents and bleach. While health experts stress the importance of fighting COVID by washing hands and surfaces with mild cleansers, such as old-fashioned soap and water, they say disinfecting may literally be overkill. When New York City shut down the subways for four hours each day for disinfecting it deprived untold residents of much-needed transportation. Many of these travelers worked at hospitals and other health care facilities treating COVID patients, the last people who needed additional hardship during the pandemic. To make matters worse, some scientists declared the subway shutdown a colossal waste of time and money. “It looks a bit to me like ‘cleaning theatre,'” Dr. Jack Gilbert, microbiome researcher, University of California San Diego professor and author of Dirt Is Good: The Advantage of Germs for Your Child’s Developing Immune System told CBN News, adding the purpose of the disinfecting project may actually have been “to make people feel more comfortable about using those environments. Bleaching the surfaces will have very, very little impact upon the spread of the disease.” That’s because science tells us COVID-19 is spread mainly through personal contact. Furthermore, Dr. Gilbert points out the fact that once a surface is sanitized, it doesn’t stay that way for long. “If you sterilize a surface, in a few minutes after sterilization the microbes from our body are re-colonizing that surface.” During this pandemic, welcoming some of the germs living all around us may seem scary, but it’s generally better than killing them all. “The negative consequences of bleaching the environment, especially if you have very young children in the environment, can actually lead to chronic consequences which may be worse,” Dr. Gilbert said, adding the good bugs we encounter, especially as youngsters, can help prevent food allergies, skin problems like eczema and even issues associated with autism. “Those experiences that those children are getting shape how their immune system develops. And that can shape how our brains develop,” he said. Growing Up With Dirt Think about all the germs surrounding barnyard animals or even household pets. Turns out, those bugs are good for us. Growing up with animals can reduce the lifetime risk of a number of ailments. For example, asthma strikes about one in ten Americans. Children who grow up with a dog, however, are 13-percent less likely to develop this serious lung disease. Kids on farms do even better, enjoying a 50-percent reduction. In the age of COVID, doctors say it’s never been more important to wash our hands. However, we can go overboard. Mayo Clinic researcher Dr. Heidi Nelson told CBN News that exposure to certain microorganisms can help fight disease. “Keeping clean is good, but there probably is such a thing as too clean,” she said, adding that exposure to a diverse array of microorganisms in the environment can help fight disease. “We all grew up playing in the dirt and it didn’t hurt us and it probably kept us healthy and having a strong immune system,” she said. In his book, Eat Dirt: Why Leaky Gut May Be the Root Cause of Your Health Problems and 5 Surprising Steps to Cure It, Dr. Josh Axe, who has the number one natural health website, told CBN News that a preoccupation with disinfecting everything in sight puts us at risk for chronic illnesses. “What a lot of people don’t realize is by using excessive sanitizers and bleaches they’re actually weakening their immune system.” The Natural Approach Dr. Axe says some cleansers contain harsh chemicals that can harm the skin and gut. He recommends a more natural approach. “If we use things like essential oils that are referenced in the Bible we’re not going to have those same side effects, yet it’s going to help sanitize us and keep us healthy,” he said. He recommends this recipe for a general household cleanser. HOMEMADE HOUSEHOLD CLEANSER INGREDIENTS: 8 Ounces Water 4 Ounces Distilled White Vinegar 15 Drops Tea Tree Essential Oil 15 Drops Lemon Essential Oil DIRECTIONS: Fill a spray bottle with ingredients. Close bottle and shake to mix. Shake bottle before each spray. In addition to gentle cleansers that kill bad germs while still allowing our immune system to flourish, Dr. Axe points to other COVID-fighting strategies. “I recommend getting zinc, around 30 milligrams a day, Vitamin D at 5,000 IUs a day and Vitamin C at 1,000 milligrams a day,” he said, continuing, “I really like echinacea because of how it strengthens the lungs, elderberry because of how it fights viruses and astragalus for its immune-boosting properties.” So while health experts advise washing hands and surfaces often with plain, old soap and water or another type of mild cleanser, they warn that super-sanitizing with antibacterial soap or bleach may literally be overkill. To read the original article click here. For more articles from CBN News click here.

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What Exactly Does It Mean to Be Immunocompromised?

AHA Publisher — Fri, 22 May 2020 07:00:21 +0000

Christine Ruggeri, CHHC via Dr. Axe – You’ve probably heard the word “immunocompromised” being used a lot lately and may have a general idea of what the term means. But what else should you know about having a compromised immune system? Your immune system acts as your body’s armed forces, protecting it from harmful invaders. A well-functioning immune system is absolutely critical for survival, but when it’s not functioning properly, you’re more vulnerable to infections and disease. The good news is that we are largely in control of our immune health. There are so many natural (and pretty easy) ways to boost the immune system and take control of your health. What Does Immunocompromised Mean? Immunocompromised means that the body’s immune defenses are weakened and don’t function properly. The immune system is an interactive network of organs, white blood cells and proteins that protects us from viruses, bacteria and dangerous foreign invaders. We rely on our immune systems to neutralize and remove pathogens from the body and to fight against our own cells that have changed due to illness. When immune function is compromised, we are at a greater risk of facing serious infections and illnesses. The vulnerability to infection and illness depends on each person’s degree of immune suppression, which can vary greatly from person to person. It’s possible to have partial or full impairment of the immune system. Some people are more susceptible to infections because of their weakened immunity, while others have severe reactions to infections and are at risk of life-threatening circumstances. This depends on the severity of immunosuppression. Primary vs. Secondary Immunodeficiency Immunodeficiency disorders can be primary or secondary. Primary immunodeficiencies are inherited immune disorders that result from genetic mutations. There are over 300 types of primary deficiencies, but they are considered rare. Although people are born with these types of immunodeficiency, some aren’t diagnosed until later in life. Secondary immunodeficiencies are more common and result from disease, malnutrition, environmental factors and certain drug therapies. Throughout life, we build our adaptive immunity, which is the part of our immune systems that learn to respond to certain antigens. This is a normal, healthy way to build up immunity, but the process can be compromised for people with immunodeficiency disorders. Causes A compromised immune system is caused by: Chronic diseases, including diabetes, hepatitis and kidney disease Cancer, especially blood cancers (like leukemia) AIDS Chemotherapy Autoimmune diseases (or overactive immune system), such as lupus, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis Congenital disorders, such as cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis and Down syndrome Certain medications, including corticosteroids and TNF inhibitors Antibiotic use Poor nutrition Sedentary lifestyle Obesity Pregnancy Lack of sun exposure Smoking Excessive alcohol consumption Isolation and loneliness Aging Fortunately, many of the causes of immunosuppression are controllable and can be corrected with dietary and lifestyle changes. Research shows that many infections of immunocompromised patients originate from the gut, with the alternation of intestinal bacteria. We know that the presence of good bacteria helps with microbial stability and boosts immune function. This is exactly why frequent antibiotic use, certain medications and poor diet contribute so largely to immunity. We also know that lifestyle and dietary factors play a major role in immune function. Obesity is strongly linked to chronic inflammation and diseases that impact immunity, including cardiovascular disease, type diabetes and chronic liver disease. Research also indicates that nutrients impact immune cells and cause changes in their function. Poor nutrition and nutrient deficiencies play a role in systemic inflammation and greatly increase the risk of immunosuppression. This includes deficiencies in zinc, selenium, vitamin D and glutamine. Aging is associated with increased inflammation, even in the absence of infection. We also know that T-cell function declines with age. This is why elderly people are more vulnerable to infection and sickness. Symptoms To put it simply, people who are immunocompromised typically get sick more often and their duration of sickness is longer. In general, symptoms of a weakened immune system may include: Vulnerability to infections Increased frequency and duration of sickness (like the common cold) Repeated infections Fatigue Digestive issues Headaches Muscle and joint pain Autoimmune disorders Inflammation Dangers/Risks The biggest danger of being immunocompromised is the risk of getting infections and having very bad reactions to these infections. Unlike people with healthy immune systems, those who are immunosuppressed have trouble fighting off the pathogens, which is why the sickness can accelerate into a much more serious condition. For the immunosuppressed, it’s important to protect yourself from infections by washing hands often, avoiding touching your face (especially when out in public), safely disinfecting surfaces of your home and seeking medical attention early if you’re not feeling well. How to Boost the Immune System 1. Rethink Your Diet To support immune function, start by removing inflammatory, unhealthy foods. Avoid processed foods, sugary foods and starchy carbs. Microbes love sugar, and the immune system reacts very poorly to sugar consumption. Then bring immune-enhancing foods and essential nutrients into your diet. These include a range of vegetables, especially yellow- and orange-colored ones, fermented foods, leafy greens, healthy fats, and green tea. 2. Manage Stress Chronic stress has a major impact on the body, causing reduced immune function, increased inflammation and more. Even in stressful times, focusing on self-care and peace of mind can make a big difference. Try breathing exercises, daily yoga (even if it’s only for a few minutes), reading inspiring books or articles, cooking, listening to music and spending relaxing time with loved ones. 3. Get Enough Sleep A lack of sleep suppresses immune function and triggers inflammation. It’s so important to get at least seven hours of sleep per night. If you can’t sleep for that amount of time, consider making lifestyle and dietary changes that will help. Skip late-night sugar and carbs, avoid using electronics before bed, and reduce stress so your mind can settle down in the evening. 4. Move Your Body Daily exercise reduces systemic inflammation and boosts immune function. On the other hand, living a sedentary lifestyle is extremely problematic, as it increases your risk of conditions that can lead to immunodeficiency, like heart disease and diabetes. 5. Get Outdoors Studies have proven that vitamin D performs several roles within the immune system. Of course, we need to protect our skin from too much direct sun, but spending some time outdoors is important for supporting immune function. Plus, time outdoors can be relaxing and help us to destress, which is another way to reduce inflammation and boost immunity. 6. Use Immune-Boosting Herbs and Supplements Certain antiviral herbs and supplements serve as powerful tools for supporting the immune system. The very best ones include: Echinacea Elderberry Andrographis Probiotics Vitamin C Vitamin D Zinc Conclusion A weakened, low immune system can be scary and frustrating. It makes you more vulnerable to infection and serious, sometimes life-threatening symptoms. The causes of compromised immune system vary, with some beginning at birth and others developing as a result of poor diet and lifestyle factors. The good news is that for many causes of poor immunity, there are natural approaches the immunosuppressed can take to improve their health. Rethinking your diet, getting enough sleep and exercise, reducing stress, and using immune-boosting herbs and supplements can have seriously positive impacts. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Axe click here.

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Curcumin Is the Spice of Life When Delivered Via Tiny Nanoparticles

AHA Publisher — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 07:00:48 +0000

University of South Australia via Newswise – For years, curry lovers have sworn by the anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric, but its active compound, curcumin, has long frustrated scientists hoping to validate these claims with clinical studies. Newswise — The failure of the body to easily absorb curcumin has been a thorn in the side of medical researchers seeking scientific proof that curcumin can successfully treat cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and many other chronic health conditions. Now, researchers from the University of South Australia (UniSA), McMaster University in Canada and Texas A&M University have shown that curcumin can be delivered effectively into human cells via tiny nanoparticles. Sanjay Garg, a professor of pharmaceutical science at UniSA, and his colleague Dr Ankit Parikh are part of an international team that has developed a nano formulation which changes curcumin’s behaviour to increase its oral bioavailability by 117 per cent. The researchers have shown in animal experiments that nanoparticles containing curcumin not only prevents cognitive deterioration but also reverses the damage. This finding paves the way for clinical development trials for Alzheimer’s. Co-author Professor Xin-Fu Zhou, a UniSA neuroscientist, says the new formulation offers a potential solution for Alzheimer’s disease. “Curcumin is a compound that suppresses oxidative stress and inflammation, both key pathological factors for Alzheimer’s, and it also helps remove amyloid plaques, small fragments of protein that clump together in the brains of Alzheimer disease patients,” Prof Zhou says. The same delivery method is now being tested to show that curcumin can also prevent the spread of genital herpes. “To treat genital herpes (HSV-2) you need a form of curcumin that is better absorbed, which is why it needs to be encapsulated in a nano formulation,” Prof Garg says. “Curcumin can stop the genital herpes virus, it helps in reducing the inflammation and makes it less susceptible to HIV and other STIs,” Prof Garg says. Women are biologically more vulnerable to genital herpes as bacterial and viral infections in the female genital tract (FGT) impair the mucosal barrier. Curcumin, however, can minimize genital inflammation and control against HSV-2 infection, which would assist in the prevention of HIV infection in the FGT. This article has been modified. For the original article click here.

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Scientists Examine How a Gut Infection May Produce Chronic Symptoms

AHA Publisher — Sat, 11 Jan 2020 08:00:04 +0000

Rockefeller University via EurekAlert – Sometimes the end of an intestinal infection is just the beginning of more misery. Of those who contract traveler’s diarrhea, for example, an unlucky few go on to develop irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a chronic inflammation of the intestinal tract. Scientists aren’t sure exactly how this happens, but some think an infection may contribute to IBS by damaging the gut nervous system. A new Rockefeller study takes a close look at why neurons in the gut die and how the immune system normally protects them. Conducted with mice, the experiments described recently in Cell offer insight on IBS and could point toward potential new treatment approaches. Keeping Inflammation in Check In a healthy gut, the immune system must strike a careful balance between responding to threats and keeping that response in check to avoid damage. “Inflammation helps the gut ward off an infection, but too much of it can cause lasting harm,” says Daniel Mucida, an associate professor and head of the Laboratory of Mucosal Immunology. “Our work explores the complex mechanisms that prevent inflammatory responses from destroying neurons.” To understand the effects of an infection on the nervous system, Mucida and his colleagues gave mice a weakened form of Salmonella, a bacterium that causes food poisoning, and analyzed neurons within the intestine. They found that infection induced a long-lasting reduction of neurons, an effect they attributed to the fact these cells express two genes, Nlrp6 and Caspase 11, which can contribute to a specific type of inflammatory response. This response, in turn, can ultimately prompt the cells to undergo a form of programmed cell death. When the researchers manipulated mice to eliminate these genes specifically in neurons, they saw a decrease in the number of neurons expiring. “This mechanism of cell death has been documented in other types of cells, but never before in neurons,” says Fanny Matheis, a graduate student in the lab. “We believe these gut neurons may be the only ones to die this way.” Macrophages to the Rescue It’s not yet clear exactly how inflammation causes neurons to commit cell suicide, yet the scientists already have clues suggesting it might be possible to interfere with the process. The key may be a specialized set of gut immune cells, known as muscularis macrophages. Previous work in Mucida’s lab has shown that these cells express inflammation-fighting genes and collaborate with the neurons to keep food moving through the digestive tract. If these neurons die off, as happens in an infection, a possible result is constipation–one of a number of unpleasant IBS symptoms. In their recent report, the team demonstrate how macrophages come to the neurons’ aid during an infection, ameliorating this aspect of the disorder. Their experiments revealed that macrophages possess a certain type of receptor molecule that receives stress signals released by another set of neurons in response to an infection. Once activated, this receptor prompts the macrophage to produce molecules called polyamines, which the scientists think might interfere with the cell death process. Getting Back to Normal In other experiments, the researchers found that Salmonella infection alters the community of microbes within the guts of mice–and when they restored the animals’ intestinal flora back to normal, the neurons recovered. “Using what we learned about the macrophages, one could think about ways to disrupt the inflammatory process that kills the neurons,” says Paul Muller, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab. For instance, it might be possible to develop better treatments for IBS that work by boosting polyamine production, perhaps through diet, or by restoring gut microbial communities. Since short-term stress responses also appear to have a protective effect, Muller thinks it may also be helpful to target that system. To read the original article click here.

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Link Between Inflammation and Mental Sluggishness Shown in New Study

AHA Publisher — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 08:00:46 +0000

University of Birmingham via Science Daily – Scientists have uncovered a possible explanation for the mental sluggishness that often accompanies illness. To read the original article and learn more about how this link functions, click here.

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Why Immunotherapy fails 60% of Metastatic Melanoma Patients

AHA Publisher — Sun, 29 Sep 2019 07:00:04 +0000

Brian Blum via Israel21c – The ultimate goal is to improve personalized medicine. “Can we predict who will respond?” asks Markel. “Can we alter treatment in order to increase responses?” Immunotherapy has transformed the treatment of many cancers, turning them from incurable to manageable as a kind of chronic illness. But not metastatic melanoma. More than half of patients (some 60 percent) with the disease do not respond to immunotherapy treatments. Researchers at Tel Aviv University’s Sackler School of Medicine and Sheba Medical Center’s Ella Lemelbaum Institute for Immuno-Oncology wanted to know why. The researchers reviewed the results of 116 melanoma patients treated with immunotherapy. Using a protein mapping technique called proteomics, the researchers discovered a difference in the metabolism, or energy production process, between melanoma patients for whom immunotherapy worked, and those whose cancer proved resistant. Prof. Tami Geiger, head of the Proteomics Lab at Tel Aviv University, explained that her team was able to map thousands of proteins using a mass spectrometer. “We then followed up with extensive computational analysis to identify the proteins that differentiated between the response groups,” Geiger said. The main distinction, according to Geiger: “In the responders, we found higher levels of proteins associated with lipid metabolism, which led to better recognition by the immune system.” Lipids are the building-block molecules of living cells; they are oxidized to create energy in the body in a process known as fatty acid metabolism. Patients whose cancer cells had a faster fatty acid metabolism responded to immunotherapy, while cancer cells that had a slower fatty acid metabolism were able to “hide” from the immune system’s T-cells that are supposed to destroy them. The research was done on mice in collaboration with the Salk Institute in San Diego and Yale School of Medicine. Using genetic engineering, the researchers “silenced” the mechanism responsible for fatty acid metabolism. “Cancer in these mice developed at a faster rate compared to the control group,” Geiger said. Predicting Who Will Respond Best The results could be significant – and not just for melanoma. “These findings can also be relevant to many other malignancies,” said Sheba Medical Center’s Prof. Gal Markel, who led the study with Geiger and Dr. Michal Harel. The ultimate goal is to improve personalized medicine. “Can we predict who will respond?” asks Markel. “Can we alter treatment in order to increase responses?” For the moment, the research will only indicate which patients should take the immunotherapy track and which patients should not because they will know in advance that treatment won’t help. In the future, if scientists can develop targeted medication to raise the levels of fatty acid metabolism, that may help make the 40% of unresponsive patients more receptive to immunotherapies. “In subsequent studies, we [will be] looking for ways to improve the response to immunotherapy and expand the circle of patients who benefit from it,” said Markel. Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer. Although it accounts for only about one percent of skin cancers, it causes a large percentage of skin cancer deaths, according to the American Cancer Society. Some 7,230 people are expected to die of melanoma in the United States this year. Melanoma is called metastatic when the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. The results of the Tel Aviv team’s research were published in the September issue of the medical journal Cell. To read the original article click here.

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