Pinboard (jm)
https://pinboard.in/u:jm/public/
recent bookmarks from jmThe hygiene hypothesis doesn't apply to viruses2022-10-14T15:00:16+00:00
https://caitlinrivers.substack.com/p/where-are-we-with-the-hygiene-hypothesis
jmAlmost no virus is protective against allergic disease or other immune diseases. In fact, infections with viruses mostly either contribute to the development of those diseases or worsen them. The opposite is true of bacteria.
Pets are good, though:
We've also noticed that people who live on farms have fewer of these diseases because they're exposed to -- for lack of a better term -- the fecal material of animals. And what we have found is that it's due to these commensal bacteria. That is one of the components that helps us keep a healthy immune system. Most of us will probably not adopt farm life. But we can have a pet, we can have a dog.
]]>pets viruses bacteria hygiene hygiene-hypothesis health immune-system allergies farmshttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:2dc80a6fe773/New-onset IgG autoantibodies in hospitalized patients with COVID-192022-03-15T12:14:46+00:00
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-25509-3
jmCOVID-19 is associated with a wide range of clinical manifestations, including autoimmune features and autoantibody production. Here we develop three protein arrays to measure IgG autoantibodies associated with connective tissue diseases, anti-cytokine antibodies, and anti-viral antibody responses in serum from 147 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Autoantibodies are identified in approximately 50% of patients but in less than 15% of healthy controls. When present, autoantibodies largely target autoantigens associated with rare disorders such as myositis, systemic sclerosis and overlap syndromes. A subset of autoantibodies targeting traditional autoantigens or cytokines develop de novo following SARS-CoV-2 infection. [....] We conclude that SARS-CoV-2 causes development of new-onset IgG autoantibodies in a significant proportion of hospitalized COVID-19 patients and are positively correlated with immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 proteins.
]]>covid-19 autoimmune autoantibodies immune-system diseases sclerosis igg antibodies via:fitterhappierajhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:443914c83018/Protection from What?2020-09-14T12:07:49+00:00
https://suddenlyathome.net/protection-from-what/
jmimmunity immune-system twiv covid-19 alan-dove vaccineshttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:fdc084e1c2cd/Robust T cell immunity in convalescent individuals with asymptomatic or mild COVID-19: Cell2020-08-14T13:53:24+00:00
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(20)31008-4?rss=yes
jmSARS-CoV-2-specific memory T cells will likely prove critical for long-term immune protection against COVID-19. We here systematically mapped the functional and phenotypic landscape of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses in unexposed individuals, exposed family members, and individuals with acute or convalescent COVID-19. Acute phase SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells displayed a highly activated cytotoxic phenotype that correlated with various clinical markers of disease severity, whereas convalescent phase SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells were polyfunctional and displayed a stem-like memory phenotype. Importantly, SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells were detectable in antibody-seronegative exposed family members and convalescent individuals with a history of asymptomatic and mild COVID-19. Our collective dataset shows that SARS-CoV-2 elicits robust, broad and highly functional memory T cell responses, suggesting that natural exposure or infection may prevent recurrent episodes of severe COVID-19.
]]>immunity covid-19 sars-cov-2 diseases immune-system t-cellshttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:03d20a19d6fa/Why Some COVID-19 Cases Are Worse than Others2020-02-25T21:48:32+00:00
https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/why-some-covid-19-cases-are-worse-than-others-67160
jmFor reasons that aren’t entirely clear, some people—especially the elderly and sick—may have dysfunctional immune systems that fail to keep the response to particular pathogens in check. This could cause an uncontrolled immune response, triggering an overproduction of immune cells and their signaling molecules and leading to a cytokine storm often associated with a flood of immune cells into the lung. “That’s when you end up with a lot of these really severe inflammatory disease conditions like pneumonia, shortness of breath, inflammation of the airway, and so forth.”
]]>covid-19 health diseases immune-system medicinehttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:3628197a2256/Boost your immunity: Cold and flu treatments suppress innate immune system2018-01-17T12:29:46+00:00
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2014/12/boost_your_immunity_cold_and_flu_treatments_suppress_innate_immune_system.html
jmThe next time you feel a cold coming on, maybe what you really want is just a little teensy bit of innate immune suppression, not an immunity boost. Over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen and antihistamines should help you feel better. Meanwhile, sit back while your acquired B and T cells do the rest. And if you aren't yet sick, stay up-to-date on your vaccines, including the yearly influenza vaccine. Most importantly, practice vigorous hand washing — after all, the skin is also a component of your natural defenses and one that actually can be enhanced by good hygiene. Take care of yourself by keeping a balanced diet, maintaining good sleep habits, and minimizing stress. These are interventions that have been shown to help keep your immune system at its best. These alone can "boost" your odds of staving off an infection this cold season.
]]>immunity health immune-system colds b-cells t-cells fluhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:36d4fd01d058/Novartis CAR-T immunotherapy strongly endorsed by FDA advisory panel2017-07-13T15:17:38+00:00
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/07/12/536812206/living-drug-that-fights-cancer-by-harnessing-the-immune-system-clears-key-hurdle
jmThe new treatment is known as CAR-T cell immunotherapy. It works by removing key immune system cells known as T cells from the patient so scientists can genetically modify them to seek out and attack only cancer cells. That's why some scientists refer to this as a "living drug."
Doctors then infuse millions of the genetically modified T cells back into the patient's body so they can try to obliterate the cancer cells and hopefully leave healthy tissue unscathed.
"It's truly a paradigm shift," said Dr. David Lebwohl, who heads the CAR-T Franchise Global Program at the drug company Novartis, which is seeking the FDA's approval for the treatment. "It represents a new hope for patients."
The drug endorsed by the advisory panel is known as CTL019 or tisagenlecleucel. It was developed to treat children and young adults ages 3 to 25 who have relapsed after undergoing standard treatment for B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which is the most common childhood cancer in the United States.
While this blood cell cancer can be highly curable, some patients fail to respond to standard treatments; and a significant proportion of patients experience relapses that don't respond to follow-up therapies.
"There is a major unmet medical need for treatment options" for these patients, Dr. Stephen Hunger, who helped study at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, told the committee.
In the main study that the company submitted as evidence in seeking FDA approval, doctors at 25 sites in 11 countries administered the treatment to 88 patients. The patients, ages 3 to 23, had failed standard treatment or experienced relapses and failed to respond to follow-up standard treatment. CTL019 produced remissions in 83 percent of patients, the company told the committee.
]]>car-t immunotherapy cancer novartis trials fda drugs t-cells immune-system medicine leukemia ctl019https://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:5f3c09eabeef/A gut microbe that stops food allergies2014-09-11T14:27:47+00:00
http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2014/08/gut-microbe-stops-food-allergies
jmallergies health food peanuts science research clostridium bacteria gut intestines immune-system mice papers pnashttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:41ae7586457d/A tick bite can make you allergic to red meat2014-08-09T11:20:34+00:00
http://www.apnewsarchive.com/2014/Bad-bite:-Doctors-see-surge-of-sudden-meat-allergies-caused-by-ticks-that-are-spreading-in-US/id-527232acf2dc492eab97a65f4b3c887c
jmThe bugs harbor a sugar that humans don't have, called alpha-gal. The sugar is also is found in red meat — beef, pork, venison, rabbit — and even some dairy products. It's usually fine when people encounter it through food that gets digested.
But a tick bite triggers an immune system response, and in that high-alert state, the body perceives the sugar the tick transmitted to the victim's bloodstream and skin as a foreign substance, and makes antibodies to it. That sets the stage for an allergic reaction the next time the person eats red meat and encounters the sugar.
Via Shane Naughton]]>ticks meat food allergies immune-system health via:inundata sugar alpha-gal red-meathttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:b0e38306d6ac/