For all you night owls. Just noticed tonight (4-17-06) the first hour (12 midnight CST) on Coast to Coast AM) Dr. Sherri Tenpenny Expert in alternative medicine will talk about the U.S. flu pandemic response plan.
Mad Scientist, I missed the Coast-to-Coast program but I notice at the website that you can listen to tonight's program TOMORROW.
Speaking of flu, here's a recent Grouppe Kurosawa blog on the subject of stress and how lack of control thereof suppresses the immune system.
Cancer, HIV, and Influenza (Flu) Susceptibility Linked to Adrenaline Receptor Acitivity.
Overview
I have been working on this essay for a long time. Stress hormones like hydrocortisone, adrenaline (epinephrine) and noradrenaline (norepinephrine) control the immune response against cancer cells, bacteria and horrific viruses such as HIV and Influenza. Physical and emotional stress take many forms, but they are ALL immunosuppressive if chronically applied.
This is one of the most important Blog essays I have written because it concerns so many different diseases. Did you ever notice that some people are chronically sick with allergies and colds while others are NEVER sick. There are reasons for this that transcend genetics.
We are going to talk about the Beta1 and Beta2 adrenergic receptors in this essay and how their activation promotes disease. In brief, we are going to talk about physicial and emotional stress and its relationship to disease, a topic rarely addressed by the medical profession.
Beta 1 and beta 2 adrenergic receptors are not the same. The activation of beta1 receptors by epinephrine (E) or norepinephrine (NE) produces cyclic AMP, a common intracellular signaling molecule. Activation of beta2 receptors also produces cyclic AMP, BUT with a significant difference.
Beta1 and Beta2 receptors normally associate with membrane Gs receptors. This association links the receptors to membrane adenylate cyclase and the activation of cyclic AMP. Beta 2 receptors can, under certain circumstances, shift their association to G1 receptors. This new association inhibits adenylate cyclase activity and the synthesis of cyclic AMP.
When beta2 receptors associate with G1 receptors, the beta2 receptor activates the critical membrane associated enzyme phospholipase A2. PLA2 removes the highly reactive fatty acid arachidonic acid from membrane lipids. The level of free arachidonic acid is tightly regulated in cells because it is the precursor of both prostaglandins and leukotrienes.
Over-expression of the arachidonic acid metabolizing enzymes cox-2 and lipoxygenase are highly associated with NON-estrogen dependent breast cancers. Beta2 adrenergic receptors were found on all breast cancer cell lines examined. The production of arachidonic acid by the activation of this receptor by E and NE promotes breast cancer cell growth.
Cox-2 and 5-lipoxygenase are active in virtually all cancers, and probably most leukemias. Keep in mind that these enzymes are inactive IF the intracellular level of arachidonic acid is limiting.
Arachidonic acid derived prostaglandin and leukotriene products induce HIV synthesis.
In addition, cyclic AMP is WELL known to be immunosuppressive, both via the direct inhibition of IL-2 synthesis in T cells and a maturation block in dentritic cells that prevents these APC or antigen presenting cells from stimulating the development of TH1, cell mediated immune cells. Cyclic AMP inhibits the synthesis of IL-12, a critical activator of cell mediated immunity, and an immune hormone whose deficiency parallels HIV pathology. This subject will be discussed in another Blog.
Increased levels of cyclic AMP are immunosuppressive on a number of different levels.
Cyclic AMP activated protein kinase A is thought to be a major cause of severe combined immunodeficiency, which is similar to the immunodeficiency found in HIV infections.
The information cited above applies to influenza infections as well. If the immune system cannot operate optimally, the virus induced pathology could easily become fatal.
Review
Cyclic AMP is both immunosuppressive and redirects T cell development away from cell mediated immunity. This affects cancer development and susceptibility to severe viral infections such as HIV and influenza.
In addition, the beta2 adrenergic receptor, upon activation, can shift from cyclic AMP production to the release of arachidonic acid from membrane lipids. The arachidonic acid feeds cox-2 and lipoxygenase enzymes which produce prostaglandins and leukotrienes, respectively.
Although tobacco metabolites can directly bind and activate beta1 and beta2 receptors, leading to enhanced cancer development, it is reasonable to "assume" that these receptors are usually activated by E and NE due to physical (malnutrition, for example) or emotional stress.
We will discuss this subject in greater depth in future Blogs. Cheap, effective anti-hypertensive drugs are available that can block both beta1 and beta2 responsiveness AND inhibit E and NE synthesis in the body. This "trivial" act may be all we need to shift the immune system toward a fully active state.
Wouldn't hurt to add this product to your anti-bird flu arsenal.
Quote:
HANDWASH KILLS BIRD FLU BUG IN 30 SECONDS
Hope over �2.99 spray
By Greig Box
AN ORDINARY handwash costing just �2.99 can kill the bird flu virus in 30 seconds, tests have found.
No-Germs, a simple hand spray, has been on sale over the counter for two years. But when the H5N1 avian flu outbreak gathered pace among birds, No-Germs owners decided to test it against the virus.
The results, revealed yesterday, were remarkable - the handwash was more tha 99.8 per cent efficient in killing H5N1. The discovery has been heralded as a "major breakthrough" - particularly if the virus ever mutates into a human form.
Sean Campbell, managing director of the British company behind the product, said: "We are very excited.
"We tested the product against H5N1 on the off-chance. We were confident it would work as it kills most viruses, including hospital superbug MRSA.
"The tests are incredibly thorough and took a few months. [Well, then, let's see 'em.]
"We put the virus into kidney cells, then the product. The test was whether the product protected the kidney cells from the virus, which it did.
Spread
"Eighty per cent of all common illnesses are spread by hand to mouth, nose and eye contact. Killing the H5N1 virus before it has a chance to enter the body is the key.
"On average, people touch their faces every five minutes [?!] and that is how germs spread.
"We can say with total confidence No-Germs will protect against H5N1. We will now work hard to get the product included in any H5N1 emergency pack."
No-Germs is already widely available in the UK.
Stores including Tesco, Boots, WH Smith, Londis, Moto and Superdrug have stocked it.
The product was developed two years ago in an effort to tackle MRSA.
No-Germs was tested against a strain of H5N1 at a lab at Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry in the University of London.
H5N1 has killed more than 100 people worldwide - but almost all were in direct contact with diseased birds.
From the Groupe Kurosawa references quoted by Ruby Tuesday one might get the erroneous impression that cyclic AMP is something bad, that should be avoided. That is not quite so. Cyclic AMP (known as the "second messenger") is formed out of ATP through stimulation by adrenalin. It is part of the "flight or fight" mechanism that is fundamental to all animals, including humans. It results in the massive release of glucose into the blood from the glycogen stores in the muscle. This glucose enables the muscles to perform the necessary reaction: Fighting or running away.
Once the emergency passes, the excess glucose is built into glycogen again.
Of course, when this mechanism is triggered too frequently, we can speak of stress. And as we know, stress is detrimental to your health.
From the way everybody talks about "H5N1", we might get the impression that this virus is a familiar guest at any fundraising party, and that everybody in the know can produce an EM picture of it.
Hate to disappoint you, but this virus has not been isolated. It is only characterized by markers: The way it hemoglutinizes red blood cells, and the neuraminidase activity.
I don't mean flu viruses don't exist; they definitely do. But this particular beast has never been isolated and shown to exist. That's not unusual these days. Modern virologists like shortcuts. Especially if they can scare people.
But this particular beast has never been isolated and shown to exist.
As of October 2005, someone has claimed to isolate H5N1.
Quote:
In an article to be published in the journal Nature on October 20, 2005, Mai Le and colleagues report on the isolation of H5N1 influenza virus (A/VietNam/Hanoi/30408/2005) resistant to oseltamivir from a 14 year old Vietnamese girl. The girl had received a prophylactic dose of 75 mg qd x 3 days, and then was switched to a therapeutic dose of 75 mg bid x 7 days. The authors note that virus was not isolated after the switch to the higher therapeutic dose.
High-level antiviral resistance to oseltamivir results from the substitution of a single amino acid in N1 neuraminidase (His274Tyr, or H274Y). Sequence analysis of the neuraminidase genes and neuraminidase inhibitor susceptibility testing of the isolates from the girl revealed a �mixed� virus population of amino acid residues 274-H (wild-type) and 274-Y (resistant) sequences. The IC50, which is the dose required for 50% inhibition of neuraminidase activity, was shifted upward, indicating that the virus was less susceptible to oseltamivir when compared with other H5N1 isolates and oseltamivir-sensitive viruses. The girl�s brother, from whom she acquired the infection, was treated with oseltamivir 75 mg bid; sequence analysis revealed wild-type virus.
Yes Ruby, "The Truth is out there... somewhere". A true statement. Unfortunately, there are people who make it their life's work to hide the Truth. I'm glad you quoted this paper. It's only an abstract, but it shows nicely how we are being cheated.
The first sign that there's something wrong is the number of authors. I've been complaining before about simple papers written by 12 authors, but this one needed 21 (!) authors to produce it!
As you said, they claim to have isolated H5N1 flu virus. But did they really?
Let' first define "isolation": That means that the virus has to be separated from all other crud. The result must be a physical substance (even it's only a few micrograms) that you can handle and characterize. And it must consist of real virus particles that are infectious, and that can be seen under the elctron microscope.
This abstract does not describe the method followed. But I found another peer-reviewed paper that also claimed isolation, albeit on another strain (H4N6). The ref. is:
Histopathology and virus isolation. Lung tissue samples were obtained at postmortem from four sick pigs for diagnostic evaluations. Histologic examination revealed bronchointerstitial pneumonia with necrotizing bronchiolitis and hyperplasia of type II pneumocytes, consistent with a mixed viral and bacterial etiology. (Three common opportunistic bacterial pathogens of pigs were isolated from the lungs: Streptococcus suis, Pasteurella multocida, and Arcanobacterium pyogenes. The involvement of these organisms likely explains the clinical improvement observed with antibiotic therapy.) Homogenates (10% [wt/vol]) of pooled lung tissues (two animals per pool) were prepared and inoculated into Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cell cultures in borosilicate tubes with 1.5 �g of tolylsulfonyl phenylolanyl chloromethyl ketone (TPCK)-treated trypsin per ml (Worthington Biochemical Corporation, Lakewood, N.J.). Viral agents that hemagglutinated chicken and guinea pig erythrocytes to a titer of 128 were isolated from both lung pools. One of these viruses, A/Swine/Ontario/01911-1/99 (Sw/ONT/99-1), was chosen for complete analysis. The isolate from the second lung tissue pool, A/Swine/Ontario/01911-2/99 (Sw/ONT/99-2), was subjected to partial sequence characterization to confirm that it was of the same overall genotype as Sw/ONT/99-1 and to evaluate the level of genetic heterogeneity between the two isolates in the HA and matrix (M) genes.
Sheesh! Nix isolation. They just inoculate a culture of dog kidney cells with homogenized lung tissue from sick or dead pigs, and cultivate... something (!) And they sequence material without really knowing what it is. Certainly not RNA purified from whole virus particles. That's cheating.
And get a load of this:
Quote:
Antigenic characterization of Sw/ONT/99-1. Sw/ONT/99-1 was identified as an H4N6 virus by hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) assay (41) and microneuraminidase-inhibition (NI) spot assay (59) by using previously described (3) panels of monospecific chicken antisera.
In other words: The virus is identified by looking at markers, without real isolation. One could argue that it is not necessary to do a throrough isolation each time the presence of a certain virus type has to be shown, but it has to be shown at least once that the markers being used are uniquely connected with that particular virus.
This is why I stated that these viruses (among which H5N1) have not really been isolated. Their presence is only inferred from markers. The virologists are, as usual overstating their case.
I see your point, Skepzilla. I guess the only thing to do is wait until humans start dropping like flies a' la 1918. Then we'll know something is amiss.
Yes Ruby, I can go along with that 100%. Sooner or later I'm sure we will see people dropping like flies, and then we'll know something is seriously wrong. But we won't necessarily know exactly what. The people of Hiroshima or Chernobyll probably had a pretty good idea what was hitting them. But I wonder if they wouldn't have been confused if they had been bombarded with government propaganda about a flu virus, just to hide the true cause of the disaster. You must be a pure, innocent soul, but believe me, the world really is that bad. I'm not happy about that, but it's the only world we have.
Did anyone besides myself see the NBC Special last nite [Sun 4/23] on the possible pathways of this Virus, IF it turns out that it can be transmitted from fowl to human, and then human to human. Still alot of big IF's, but all the various ramifications leaves more to ponder.
Comments would be appreciated, esp from others who saw the Program. Thanks!
__________________
May you always have..Love to Share, Health to Spare, and Friends that Care!
Maybe this will help and have doctors jumping with joy.
Oh, it won't help. Antibiotics don't help against viruses (or fungi for that matter). But maybe the doctors do jump with joy. They must think we're even dumber than we are.
Hey, that's a nice documentary, Ruby! Apart from being good, It also supports the view I hold of the events in 1918. As I see it, several circumstances came together that year, and the combination was fatal for many people.
The timeline shows us that it all began in an army camp. WWI was not over yet, and many soldiers must have been exposed to poison gases such as phosgene and mustard gas, both of which were used a lot in that war. These toxic gases attack the lungs and weaken the body considerably. Then the flu season arrived, killing off the weak and infirm. And, of course, bacteria that are so abundant in every hospital, preyed on those who were already weakened by other causes.
I don't think it was a special flu virus. Nothing magical about it. Just a plain ol' flu virus, of the kind that returns every year. But there were other factors, I'm sure. The trouble is, the government doesn't tell its citizens what's going on, especially at war time. The same gases the military used in the war had to be manufactured by civilians. And when a covert action by the government leads to fatalities, what better explanation is there than feeding the populace a story about some killer virus that has caused all those deaths?
Could it happen again? Oh yes, it could. I hope you don't cling to the illusion that the government (especially this government) cares about you. But they don't want to be held accountable for all the fatalities. So they will, through their propaganda machine, and with the collaboration of the spineless and docile media, concoct a story about some epidemic that's hitting the country.
But don't the scientists notice that something doesn't make sense? A real epidemic caused by some infectious agent can be recognized, and distinguished from events caused by chemical toxins or radiation. Are all the scientists involved in these scams then? No, they are not.
Only the assistance of some scientists is required. Especially those who are in influential positions (such as program directors and chief scientists at the CDC or the NIH or FDA). They can be bought. Scientists in general are not well-paid. So, for some extra bucks they can be made to speak their master's word. And those in the higher-up circles who cannot be bought? Well, they are disavowed, fired, branded as troublemakers, ridiculed, and murdered if necessary. I'm talking real world now.
But of course, not all scientists are bought. That would be too expensive. Only the high-ranking ones get extra benfits. The majority is simply bullied into cooperating. Scientists have low salaries and high mortgages...
Let me summarize: Epidemics are good for making money, from drugs, vaccines, and other paraphernalia. But they are also perfect for covering up misdeeds by the government or big corporations.
Can we change all this? Probably not. We lack the power. But as an individual, you can free yourself from these onslaughts by those who do have the power. You can just laugh at their "epidemics", and try to figure out where the real danger lies. Then you can take evasive action.
And that's the only news I have to offer at this time. But, thinking about it, isn't it good news, actually?
Linear Mode
