Virus
Episodes
In this clip, Dr. Eran Elinav explains the new field of bacteriophages and how they could be combined with probiotics to generate personalized therapies.
In this clip, Dr. Roger Seheult describes ivermectin and its possible role against COVID-19.
In this clip, Dr. Roger Seheult clarifies the ambiguity surrounding how physicians report deaths and comorbidities from COVID-19.
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In this clip, Dr. Eran Elinav explains the new field of bacteriophages and how they could be combined with probiotics to generate personalized therapies.
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In this clip, Dr. Roger Seheult describes ivermectin and its possible role against COVID-19.
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In this clip, Dr. Roger Seheult clarifies the ambiguity surrounding how physicians report deaths and comorbidities from COVID-19.
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In this clip, Dr. Roger Seheult discusses concerns about whether vaccines were rushed or can lead to more harmful forms of the virus.
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In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses the relationship between vaccines and viral evolution.
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In this clip, Dr. Roger Seheult describes how treatment modalities differ between the two distinct phases of COVID-19 illness.
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In this clip, Dr. Roger Seheult discusses the biological plausibility of incorporating heat hydrotherapy into the treatment of COVID-19.
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Dr. Roger Seheult discusses the roles of vaccines, vitamin D, and heat therapy in the prevention of COVID-19.
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In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses whether COVID-19 disease causes permanent lung damage.
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In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick describes the effect of sex hormones on immune function.
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In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick describes the effect of sex hormones on immune function.
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In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses how omega-3 fatty acids participate in resolving inflammation during an immune response.
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In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses the trace element zinc and its role in the immune system.
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In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick describes how vitamin C is involved in immunity.
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In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses how vitamin A is involved in mounting an immune response.
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In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick details the critical role that vitamin D plays in the immune response.
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In this clip Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses how deficiencies or insufficiencies in micronutrients might negatively affect immune function.
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In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick explains how allergens in the environment may shape the immune system during early life.
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In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick describes how the body's microbiome affects immune function.
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In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses how a lack of sleep impacts the immune response.
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In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses how the quantity and quality of antibodies against a virus might lead to negative outcomes.
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In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses the role that genetics plays in the immune system.
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In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses the active area of investigation surrounding the immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
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In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses the evidence surrounding how long the virus resides in the human body.
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In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses what cross-immunity is and how it may be relevant for SARS-CoV-2.
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COVID-19 Vitamin D Nutrition Exercise Microbiome Sleep Vitamin C Omega-3 Inflammation Immune System Virus Micronutrients Vitamin E Vaccine Genetics Testosterone Estrogen Zinc Fiber AutoimmunityCOVID-19 Q&A Part 2: Rhonda Patrick, Ph.D. answers subscriber questions in a multi-part series.
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COVID-19 Q&A Series Part 1: Rhonda Patrick, Ph.D. addresses subscriber questions in this multi-part series.
Topic Pages
News & Publications
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Each year, millions of people sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI), often resulting in serious, long-term consequences. Research indicates that even one head injury is linked to a higher risk of developing dementia, with the risk increasing further after two or more. A recent study found that TBIs can reactivate dormant herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), driving neuroinflammation and contributing to the development of Alzheimer’s.
Researchers created a three-dimensional model of the human brain. Then, they subjected HSV-1-infected and non-infected brain tissue to multiple blows, emulating TBIs and their ensuing pro-inflammatory effects.
They found that repeated mild blows to HSV-1-infected tissues reactivated the virus, triggering inflammatory processes in the brain and driving the buildup of amyloid-beta and phosphorylated tau—proteins linked to brain damage and memory loss. These harmful effects worsened with additional injuries but didn’t occur in uninfected tissue.
These findings demonstrate that viral reactivation in the brain may contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s. HSV-1 is the virus responsible for causing cold sores and genital herpes. It infects approximately 80% of people by age 60 and is commonly found in the brains of older adults. In people with the APOE4 gene, HSV-1 markedly increases the risk of Alzheimer’s.
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Blocking the body's antiviral immune response holds promise for Alzheimer's disease prevention. medicalxpress.com
The immune system plays important, and sometimes surprising, roles in brain health. A new study in mice found that blocking components of the antiviral immune response may make the brain more resilient to the effects of abnormal tau – potentially preventing Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
Tau is a protein found in the brain. Abnormal tau can form aggregates called tau tangles – one of the defining characteristics of Alzheimer’s disease – activating antiviral response pathways and interfering with normal brain function and cognition.
Researchers studied the effects of exposure to abnormal tau on microglia, the brain’s resident immune cells. They found that when microglia were exposed to abnormal tau, the mitochondria became “leaky,” releasing their DNA into the cellular fluid. The immune system inappropriately interpreted the leaked DNA as a viral attack, triggering an immune response that promoted the release of type-I interferon, a cytokine that drives the antiviral immune response. Interrupting the pathways involved in this response restored normal brain function.
These findings suggest that suppressing the inappropriate immune response to abnormal tau exposure could provide a means to prevent or treat the tau-associated pathologies common in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Learn about other strategies to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in this episode featuring Dr. Dale Bredesen.
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A type of virus present in the gut microbiota is associated with better cognitive ability in humans, mice and flies www.sciencedaily.com
Bacteriophages may influence the capacity to learn and remember information.
The gut microbiome plays many roles in human physiology, including aspects of brain and neurological health. Because the overall microbial makeup of the microbiome stabilizes around the age of three years, reconfiguring an unfavorable balance with dietary measures or via fecal microbial transplantation has shown limited success. In recent years, scientists have turned to bacteriophages as a possible means of restoring imbalances. Interestingly, bacteriophages may serve other purposes, as demonstrated in findings from a recent study showing that bacteriophages may influence an animal’s ability to learn and remember information.
Bacteriophages (often referred to simply as “phages”) are viruses that infect bacteria. They are abundant in the human gut and exert disparate effects on human health, as seen in their potential roles in resolving bacterial infections and in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease. Bacteriophages are species-specific and typically only infect a single bacterial species or even specific strains within a species. The dominant bacteriophages in the human gut are those of the Caudovirales and Microviridae families.
The study involved more than 1,000 adult participants enrolled in the Ageing Imagenoma Project, an ongoing study of aging patterns among healthy adults (50 years and older) living in Girona, Italy. Participants completed food questionnaires and underwent a battery of cognitive tests, with special emphasis on executive function, one of the key domains of cognitive function.
Investigators collected fecal samples from the participants and measured the viral species present. Interestingly, participants who consumed higher quantities of dairy products tended to have more Caudovirales bacteriophages in their guts. The researchers transplanted fecal samples from the participants into the guts of mice and performed cognitive tests on the mice. Mice that received fecal transplants from participants with more Caudovirales viruses performed better on the cognitive tests than mice that received transplants with fewer Caudovirales.
Next, they fed fruit flies either ordinary whey powder (a dairy product that contains bacteriophages) or sterilized, virus-free whey powder. Then they duplicated the experiment using isolated bacteriophages. In both scenarios, production of genes in the flies' brains that are associated with memory increased.
These findings suggest that bacteriophages, especially those of the Caudovirales family, influence aspects of cognitive function and underscore the potential for capitalizing on the beneficial roles of viral species in the human gut. Learn more about bacteriophages in this interview featuring gut microbiome expert Dr. Eran Elinav.
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Not getting enough sleep increases common cold risk. jamanetwork.com
Sleep plays roles in many aspects of human health, including immune function. Not getting enough sleep can drive a chronic inflammatory state, increasing a person’s risk for both acute and chronic diseases. Findings from a 2009 study demonstrate that not getting enough sleep increases a person’s risk for developing a common cold.
The average person experiences two to three colds every year, most of which are caused by rhinoviruses. Working adults in the United States tend to lose nearly nine work hours per cold due to absenteeism and on-the-job productivity losses. Adults caring for a child under the age of 13 years tend to lose at least one hour of work per cold. Together, these productivity losses equate to nearly $25 billion per year.
The study involved 153 healthy men and women between the ages of 21 and 55 years. Over a period of two weeks, participants kept sleep diaries in which they reported how long they slept each night and how rested they felt upon waking. They also reported their “sleep efficiency,” the ratio of the total time spent asleep versus the total amount of time spent in bed. The study investigators then quarantined the participants and exposed them to RV-39, a type of rhinovirus that causes colds. They monitored the participants for five days to see if they developed cold symptoms.
The investigators found that participants that had less than seven hours of sleep (on average) were three times more likely to develop a cold than those that had eight or more hours of sleep. Participants with less than 92 percent sleep efficiency were nearly six times more likely to develop a cold than those with 98 percent or higher sleep efficiency.
These findings suggest that not getting enough sleep or having poor sleep efficiency increases a person’s risk for developing illnesses the common cold. Many people experience difficult falling or staying asleep, increasing their risk for colds and other diseases. Learn how cognitive behavioral therapy benefits people with sleeping problems.
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A 2008 article by Dr. Anthony Fauci identifies pneumonia as primary cause of death for 1918 pandemic victims, raising alarm about future pandemics. www.sciencedaily.com
The global influenza pandemic of 1918 was the deadliest in history, claiming the lives of more than 50 million people worldwide. Although the cause of the outbreak has been attributed to infection from the H1N1 virus, a 2008 study co-authored by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, suggested the primary cause of death among those infected was pneumonia.
Fauci and his colleagues conducted an extensive review of the scientific literature detailing the pathological and bacteriological evidence regarding the pandemic, derived from the findings of more than 8,000 autopsies. Then they examined preserved lung tissue samples from 58 of those autopsies to determine the cause of death.
They found that the death rate followed an age-specific, W-shaped curve, with the highest peaks occurring among infants and elderly people and a slightly lower peak occurring among young adults between the ages of 20 and 40 years old. Examination of the tissue samples revealed that severe acute bacterial pneumonia was present in nearly every case as either the primary pathological feature or coincidental to other features commonly associated with influenza infection, including serious injury to the tissues of the respiratory tract.
The primary pathogens identified in the samples were pneumococci, streptococci, and staphylococci – bacteria that commonly reside in the throat and upper respiratory tract and typically pose no harm. However, the injurious tissue changes that accompanied the primary viral infection created an environment conducive to secondary bacterial infection and subsequent pneumonia. Also present in the samples were Bacillus influenzae, bacteria that often facilitate the infiltration of other pneumonia-causing bacteria.
Taken together, these findings suggest that pandemic preparedness should include the stockpiling of antibiotics and bacterial vaccines.
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At the time of this writing, the worldwide death toll from COVID-19 has exceeded 10,000 people. As spread of the disease escalates, a phase 1 clinical trial of an investigational vaccine using an RNA vaccine has begun in Seattle, Washington.
Conventional vaccines typically employ antigens – inactivated disease-promoting organisms or proteins produced by a virus or bacterium. Antigens mimic the infectious agent to provoke an immune response and provide immunity from future exposures.
RNA vaccines, on the other hand, utilize a messenger RNA (mRNA) strand that codes for a disease-specific antigen. The vaccine delivers the mRNA strand to the body’s cells, where the genetic information is used to produce the antigen. Similar to the conventional vaccine-derived antigen, these cell-derived antigens drive an immune response.
The phase 1 clinical trial involves approximately 45 healthy men and women between the ages of 18 and 55 years. The study participants will be enrolled into one of three cohorts to receive either a 25 microgram (mcg), 100 mcg, or 250 mcg dose, via intramuscular injection in their upper arm. A repeat dose will be given four weeks later. The patients will be monitored via follow-up visits after the vaccinations to gauge the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness.
The mRNA vaccine used in this trial, known as mRNA-1273, has shown promise in animal studies, but this is the first trial to test it in humans. Enrollment has already begun for the trial. If you live in the Seattle area and would like to participate, read this information.