Following the swine flu, scientists discover that lasagna flu viruses paralyze the immune system and allow bacteria to enter and make people sick with even more serious diseases
As the swine flu continues to spread around the world, researchers at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia discovered important clues about the flu and it turns out that it is more dangerous for some people than others.
In a study published online in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology on May 5, the scientists show that the influenza virus has the ability to paralyze the immune system of normally healthy people. This paralysis led to secondary infection with disease-causing bacteria such as pneumonia. Moreover, the paralysis may be long-term, which is important to know when developing strategies to fight the virus.
According to Dr. Kathleen Sullivan, the senior researcher involved in the study and director of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, "Scientists today have a very limited understanding of why some people with the flu only get a little cold and others become very sick and even die. The results of the study provide us with a better sense of the mechanisms that facilitate bacterial infection in the context of viral infection.
Sullivan and her colleagues tested the level of cytokines in acute flu patients, the first marker of the immune response in the blood plasma. They found increasing amounts of cytokines as well as a decrease in the response of receptors that are active in the cells of the immune system as a response to bacteria that are not allowed to enter. This indicates that the reduced response of these receptors may be responsible for paralyzing the immune system, which leads to secondary bacterial infection.
The researchers compared these patients to patients with a milder flu, to those with respiratory syncytial virus, and to a control group of healthy people. Paralysis of the immune system was specifically linked to influenza infection and was not seen in patients with respiratory syncytial virus. This process may explain why a quarter of the children who die from the flu actually die from the bacterial infection that occurs following the action of the virus.
The researchers hope that this new information will make it possible to develop a more effective treatment strategy.
to the notice of the researchers
On the same topic on the science site
- Preparing for the next epidemic - a comprehensive article by Scientific American, 2006 (in the midst of the bird flu)
- Following the swine flu: Universal flu vaccine (2009)
- Pig caution
10 תגובות
So is there such a thing as some people taking the flu easily? I mean you don't have to be sick with it for a whole week?
Thanks Roy for the information.
This is another wonderful example of how anyone can contribute to the site's readers in their fields of study, study and occupation when their efforts are not wasted in writing comments that aim to defend the existence of science and the theories that came out of it (not because they are invalid - this is completely allowed, but only because it damages the basis of their faith of certain people).
Thanks again Roy for expanding my knowledge on the subject.
happily!
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Roy, I thank you for the wonderful answers 🙂
age,
I haven't read the full article by the researchers presented in the current news, but according to the summary it seems to be a decrease in the amount of toll type receptors on the surface of the cells of the immune system. These receptors receive the first warning signal for infection, and stimulate the cells to action. If their amount is low, it will take longer for the immune system to start working and fight infections.
Although in principle this condition can be compared to AIDS, it's kind of like saying an elephant looks like a mouse because they're both gray, and ignoring the weight difference between them. This is a relatively mild inhibition of the immune system. Not so easy, because 25% of children sick with the flu die as a result of co-infections, but still much easier than AIDS.
In the case of AIDS, an entire wing of the immune system cells called CD4+ (carrying the CD4 type receptor) is totally destroyed. He will not react late, or react weakly. It will simply not respond at all, at any point during the infection. In the flu, there is still an immune response against co-infections, so it is very difficult to assume that it is possible to draw real conclusions about the way to treat AIDS or the flu, based on an understanding of the other person.
Roy.
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my new blog - Another science
sky clear 😉
But it is known that there are stronger and weaker immune systems,
So they found out that the flu in one does manage to weaken the body and in another it doesn't or am I wrong? And what strategy can be developed just like AIDS. (Perhaps compare the paralysis of the immune system in the case of AIDS to that of the flu and find a common denominator?)
This was enough for the Hebrew Wikipedia to delete the template "died from AIDS", with the postmodernist claim that no one dies from AIDS.... It was as a result of the pressure the smokers exerted to lower the mold that they died from smoking.
age,
The HIV virus (which causes AIDS) does not kill the body. It 'in general' damages the immune system only, and does not allow it to act against infections.
The problem is that we are constantly surrounded by potential infections. Babies who are born sterile, enter a world where bacteria are infested in every cubic centimeter of air. Within a few months, their bodies will contain an amount of bacteria, fungi and worms, far exceeding the number of human cells in the body.
Most of these hitchhikers are harmless to us. Sometimes they are even helpful: the intestinal bacteria produce vitamins for us, the bacteria in the female vagina keep it clean and balance its acidity (which is also important for men) and even the fungi on the skin feed on our oily sweat. This does not mean that they are not trying to reproduce, but in general our immune system can deal with these factors if they get out of control.
But what happens if we don't have an active immune system?
'When there is no cat, the mice celebrate' - viruses, bacteria and fungi can invade the body and multiply at will. Fungi from the air take control of the moist airways, causing fatal pneumonia. The herpes virus, which is normally severely suppressed by the immune system, now rears its ugly head and creates open sores all over the body. The fungi that live in the intestines and enjoy the symbiosis with the body, switch to their invasive form and create lesions in the tissues that surround them.
So does AIDS kill the patients? You can say no. It only prepares the ground for the attack of all the other factors, which are not harmful to healthy people. On the other hand, in every sense except the purest (or dirtiest) legal sense, AIDS does cause people to die, because if it weren't for it, their bodies would have remained healthy enough and wouldn't have had trouble dealing with all the hitchhiking infections.
Hope I provided a clear enough answer,
Roy.
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my new blog - Another science
Not that I understand it, but it really reminded me of the thing I heard about AIDS, that some people say they don't die from AIDS.
Those that are as listed here open the door to other bacteria that kill.
Is there a basis for talking?
interesting. Another way the flu can lead to death is called a "cytokine storm." in which an excess of cytokines triggers an acute overreaction of the immune system that damages the lung tissue.
Maybe the cytokine storm paves the way for bacterial diseases as the researchers found?