Health & Fitness

05/08/20

Soursop Tea: 13 Potential Benefits You Should Know About

Might Enzymes Help Blood Clotting Associated With COVID-19?

Aside from sepsis — which in one study¹ was present in 59% of COVID-19 patients and 100% of those who died — blood clots also appear to be common in patients with severe COVID-19 disease.^2,^3,^4,⁵ As reported by STAT news:⁶

“Doctors treating the sickest COVID-19 patients have zeroed in on a new phenomenon: Some people have developed widespread blood clots, their lungs peppered with tiny blockages that prevent oxygen from pumping into the bloodstream and body …

Physicians from the U.S., the Netherlands, and China have published a number of case reports in scientific journals about Covid-19 patients with a multitude of small blood clots. In one report, researchers in China said 7 out of 10 patients who died of Covid-19 had small blood clots throughout the bloodstream, compared to fewer than 1 in 100 people who survived …

It still isn’t clear why the virus leads to these blood clots forming, or why patients’ bodies can’t break them up. It also isn’t clear how significant a role they play in a patient’s illness.”

Blood Clots — A Newly Discovered Hallmark of Severe COVID-19

According to a case report published April 8, 2020:⁷

“A hallmark of severe COVID-19 is coagulopathy, with 71.4% of patients who die of COVID-19 meeting … criteria for disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) while only 0.6% of patients who survive meet these criteria.

Additionally, it has become clear that this is not a bleeding diathesis but rather a predominantly pro-thrombotic DIC with high venous thromboembolism rates, elevated D-dimer levels, high fibrinogen levels in concert with low anti-thrombin levels, and pulmonary congestion with microvascular thrombosis and occlusion on pathology in addition to mounting experience with high rates of central line thrombosis and vascular occlusive events (e.g. ischemic limbs, strokes, etc.) …

There is evidence in both animals and humans that fibrinolytic therapy in Acute Lung Injury and ARDS improves survival, which also points to fibrin deposition in the pulmonary microvasculature as a contributory cause of ARDS and would be expected to be seen in patients with ARDS and concomitant diagnoses of DIC on their laboratory values such as what is observed in more than 70% of those who die of COVID-19.”

There’s a whole lot of tongue twisting medical jargon in that abstract, but the key points are these: DIC⁸ refers to a systemic disorder that affects blood coagulation and can result in organ dysfunction and death.

Prothrombotic DIC causes blood clots to form while simultaneously activating the fibrinolytic system⁹ — the pathway responsible for degrading and removing clots in the blood stream. The process is dysregulated, however.

The final step in the fibrinolytic process is the cleavage of fibrin, which results in the formation of degradation products such as D-dimer.¹⁰ High D-dimer levels indicate that your body is breaking down one or more blood clots.

Fibrinogen is a clotting factor essential for proper blood formation. Fibrinogen levels typically rise when inflammation or tissue damage is present. Fibrinogen is broken down by the enzyme thrombin into fibrin, which causes a clot to form.

As the name implies, antithrombin¹¹ is a protein that inactivates enzymes involved in blood coagulation. In COVID-19, antithrombin levels tend to be low and fibrinogen levels high. The end result is blood clots that are not properly degraded and removed.

Abnormal Coagulation Associated With Poor Prognosis

According to a February 19, 2020, report¹² in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, abnormal coagulation is associated with poor prognosis in patients with COVID-19.

Of 183 consecutive COVID-19 patients treated in a Chinese hospital, those who died had significantly higher levels of fibrinogen, D-dimer and other fibrin degradation products; 71.4% of those who died also met the criteria of DIC, compared to just 0.6% of those who recovered.

Lewis Kaplan, a University of Pennsylvania physician and head of the Society of Critical Care Medicine, told The Washington Post¹³ that while clotting complications are common in cancer and trauma patients, “they don’t clot like this.”

According to Kaplan, “The problem we are having is that while we understand that there is a clot, we don’t yet understand why there is a clot.” The Washington Post¹⁴ also quotes Harlan Krumholz, a cardiac specialist at the Yale-New Haven Hospital Center, who said:

“One of the theories is that once the body is so engaged in a fight against an invader, the body starts consuming the clotting factors, which can result in either blood clots or bleeding. In Ebola, the balance was more toward bleeding. In COVID-19, it’s more blood clots.”

Interestingly enough, the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis paper¹⁵ highlights the link between DIC and sepsis, noting that:

“Sepsis is well established as one of the most common causes of DIC; development of DIC results when monocytes and endothelial cells are activated to the point of cytokine release following injury, with expression of tissue factor and secretion of von Willebrand factor.”

In other words, COVID-19 patients found to have blood clots should probably be assumed to have sepsis as well, and the sepsis must be properly addressed too. Unfortunately, sepsis is commonly overlooked, even by medical professionals, as many of the symptoms of sepsis look very similar to those of both flu and COVID-19. Examples include high fever with chills and shivering, unusual sweating, dizziness, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, muscle pain and cold, clammy skin.

Cellular and molecular biologist Judy Mikovits, whom I recently interviewed, believes the clotting issue is related to cytokine release but not from SARS-CoV-2. She is confident that a coinfection with the retrovirus XMRV is causing this problem.

Vitamin C Protocol Lowers Sepsis Mortality

Dr. Paul Marik’s protocol of intravenous (IV) vitamin C with hydrocortisone and thiamine (vitamin B1) has been shown to dramatically improve chances of survival in patients with sepsis.¹⁶

His retrospective before-after clinical study^17,¹⁸ showed giving patients 200 mg of thiamine every 12 hours, 1,500 mg of ascorbic acid every six hours, and 50 mg of hydrocortisone every six hours for two days reduced mortality from 40% to 8.5%. Importantly, the treatment has no side effects and is inexpensive, readily available and simple to administer, so there’s virtually no risk involved.

Marik’s sepsis protocol can be a lifesaver, so you’d be wise to discuss it with your doctor any time you’re hospitalized, especially if you or someone you love is diagnosed with COVID-19, considering how common sepsis is in those with more severe disease.

Sepsis is also often the result of a secondary infection contracted while in the hospital, and they’re now finding hospitals are primary vectors of disease, so it’s prudent to be prepared.

This way, should you develop sepsis while you’re admitted, your medical team already knows your wishes and can act swiftly. According to Marik, the best results are obtained when the concoction is administered within the first six hours of presentation of symptoms.¹⁹ The longer you delay treatment, the less likely it will be successful. If your doctor refuses to consider it offhand, convince him or her to review the studies cited here.^20,^21,^22,^23,^24,^25,^26,^27,²⁸

Doctors Struggle to Identify Best Blood Clot Treatment

As for the blood clots, doctors are unsure and divided when it comes to treatment. Some believe it’s advisable to administer blood thinners early, even in mild cases treated at home. Some case studies, however, suggest anticoagulants aren’t doing much to improve outcomes.²⁹

Systemic thrombolysis with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) — an intravenous “clot busting” drug used for heart attacks and stroke — has also resulted in mixed success.³⁰ As reported by STAT news:³¹

“Doctors around the country are already giving patients heparin or tPA … The drug tPA does carry its own risk. It’s typically given to stroke patients within hours of symptoms to reduce the risk of bleeding in the brain.

But [transplant surgery fellow and researcher Hunter] Moore pointed out that the risk of those bleeds for patients on tPA is lower than for Covid-19 patients who are placed on ECMO [extracorporeal membrane oxygenation] machines to improve oxygen levels in their blood.”

Natural Clot-Busters

Holistic prophylactic alternatives that might be beneficial against blood clots include proteolytic enzymes such as lumbrokinase, nattokinase and serrapeptase, all of which act as natural anticoagulants by breaking down the fibrin that forms the blood clot.

As noted in one 2018 Scientific Reports paper,³² “Defibrinogenation, inhibition of platelet aggregation, and/or interference with components of the blood coagulation cascade are some of the key mechanisms by which proteolytic enzymes exert their anticoagulant effect.” They also have anti-inflammatory effects.

Lumbrokinase, a complex fibrinolytic enzyme extracted from earthworms, is a highly effective antithrombotic agent that reduces blood viscosity and platelet aggregation.³³ It also degrades fibrin, which is a key factor in clot formation.^34,³⁵

Some researchers have suggested lumbrokinase could be used “as secondary prevention after acute thrombosis,” such as heart attacks and stroke.³⁶ A 2008 study³⁷ found its antiplatelet activity protected against cerebral ischemia.

It is important to note that lumbrokinase is about 300 times stronger than serrapeptase, and nearly 30 times stronger than nattokinase.^38,^39,⁴⁰ It is my strong personal preference and recommendation if you are using a fibrinolytic enzyme.

Nattokinase, produced by the bacteria Bacillus subtilis during the fermentation of soybeans to produce natto,⁴¹ is a strong thrombolytic,⁴² comparable to aspirin^43,⁴⁴ without the serious side effects.

It’s been shown to break down blood clots and reduce the risk of serious clotting⁴⁵ by dissolving excess fibrin in your blood vessels,⁴⁶ improving circulation and decreasing blood viscosity. Interestingly, in one in vitro study,⁴⁷ the thrombolytic activity of equimolar amounts (meaning equivalent amounts) of nattokinase and tPA were found to be identical.

Serrapeptase, also known as serratiopeptidase, is a substance produced in the gut of newborn Bombyx mori silkworms that allows them to dissolve and escape from their cocoons.

Research⁴⁸ has shown it can help patients with chronic airway disease, lessening viscosity of sputum and reducing coughing. Like lumbrokinase and nattokinase, serrapeptase breaks down fibrin. It also helps dissolve dead or damaged tissue without harming healthy tissue.⁴⁹

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Our final week of body+soul LIVE @ home workouts may be our best yet

Consider this a taste-test of sorts of Australia's best fitness trainers: try a one-on-one with Centr trainer and Chris Hemsworth's PT Luke Zocchi, sample a session from the Keep It Cleaner girls, then join Tim Robards for a core-crunching appointment with your abs. It's a seven-day schedule jam-packed with online workouts designed to help you stay moving, at motivated, while at home.

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Individualized mosaics of microbial strains transfer from the maternal to the infant gut

Researchers have used a microbiome 'fingerprint' method to report that an individualized mosaic of microbial strains is transmitted to the infant gut microbiome from a mother giving birth through vaginal delivery. They detailed this transmission by analyzing existing metagenomic databases of fecal samples from mother-infant pairs, as well as analyzing mouse dam and pup transmission in a germ-free, or gnotobiotic, mouse model, where the dams were inoculated with human fecal microbes.

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Newly discovered cell type plays crucial role in immune response to respiratory infections

Our pupils move to the rhythm of the environment

Chemistry breakthrough could speed up drug development

Protein shredder regulates fat metabolism in the brain

A protein shredder that occurs in cell membranes of brain cells apparently also indirectly regulates the fat metabolism. The shredder, known as gamma-secretase, is considered a possible target for drugs against cancer and Alzheimer's disease. However, the results suggest that such agents may have long-range effects that need to be watched closely.

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Promising study offers hope for Menkes disease patients

To err is human, to learn, divine

New research describes a new model for how the brain interprets patterns in complex networks. They found that the ability to detect patterns stems in part from the brain's desire to represent things in the simplest way possible and that the brain is constantly weighing the pressures of complexity and simplicity when making decisions.

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Plasma medicine research highlights antibacterial effects and potential uses

As interest in the application of plasma medicine -- the use of low-temperature plasma (LTP) created by an electrical discharge to address medical problems -- continues to grow, so does the need for research advancements proving its capabilities and potential impacts on the health care industry. Across the world, many research groups are investigating plasma medicine for applications including cancer treatment and the accelerated healing of chronic wounds, among others.

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More selective elimination of leukemia stem cells and blood stem cells

Hematopoietic stem cells from a healthy donor can help patients suffering from acute leukemia. However, the side effects of therapies are often severe. Researchers have now shown how human healthy and cancerous hematopoietic stem cells can be more selectively eliminated using immunotherapy instead of chemotherapy in mice. The aim is to test the new immunotherapy in humans as soon as possible.

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How does the brain link events to form a memory? Study reveals unexpected mental processes

What to eat to reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease

Would you like reduce your risk of cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia? Researchers from around the world having been studying a variety of different factors that might reduce these risks and keep the brain healthy.

Old news: The Mediterranean diet is beneficial

One factor that a number of studies have converged on is a Mediterranean-style diet. This diet includes

fish
olive oil
avocados
fruits
vegetables
nuts
beans
whole grains
red wine in moderation.

Now, if you’re like me and you happen to like all these foods, then you have all the information you need to eat a brain-healthy diet. On the other hand, if you’re not crazy about everything on the list, perhaps you would rather eat just the most important components. Researchers have, in fact, been trying to determine the key parts of this diet for a number of years.

For example, one study published in 2015 and updated in 2018 compared healthy older adults who followed a Mediterranean diet with extra olive oil or extra nuts versus a control reduced-fat diet. The enhanced Mediterranean diet groups fared equally well, and both had better cognitive performance outcomes than the reduced-fat diet group. No study, however, has been able to determine the critical components of the Mediterranean diet that makes it so good for your brain — until now.

The new study

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health recently published a study that evaluated the lifestyles of over 7,750 participants followed for five to 10 years. Participants filled out questionnaires to determine their eating habits, and had cognitive tests of memory, language, and attention administered over the phone. They used these data to determine the dietary factors most important in lowering your risk of cognitive impairment, as well as the dietary factors most important in lowering your risk of cognitive decline.

Cognitive impairment versus cognitive decline

Let’s take a moment to unpack these terms. Let’s say you want to know what your risk is 10 years from now.

Cognition is a shorthand way of saying thinking, memory, language, attention, visuospatial, and other mental abilities.
Your risk of cognitive impairment is the risk that 10 years from now, your cognition will be worse than your peers.
Your risk of cognitive decline is the risk that 10 years from now, your cognition will be worse than it is now.

Fish helps you think — and keeps your thinking strong

What did the researchers find? Fish was the single most important dietary factor in lowering the risk of cognitive impairment. Vegetables were second best, and all other foods showed smaller, insignificant effects. Moreover, of all the foods evaluated, only fish was associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline. Eating fish lowered the risk of both cognitive impairment and cognitive decline.

The take-home lesson

To reduce your risk of cognitive impairment and decline, eat a Mediterranean-style diet including fish several times per week. There are lots of good fish to eat, including Atlantic mackerel, black sea bass, catfish, clams, cod, crab, crawfish, flounder, haddock, lobster, salmon, sardines, scallops, shrimp, skate, sole, squid, tilapia, trout, and canned light tuna. Just be careful about fish that may have high levels of mercury, such as swordfish and bigeye tuna; these fish should only be eaten occasionally. The FDA has a good guide to help you know the best fish to eat.

Your mother was right

Did your mother ever tell you that fish was good for you? Mine did. In fact, she always used to say, “Fish helps you think.” She knew it all along; it just took the scientific community 50 years to catch up to her and prove it.

The post What to eat to reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

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Canadian study finds temperature, latitude not associated with COVID-19 spread

Newly discovered mechanism can explain increased risk of dementia

Millions of people around the world use acid suppressants called proton pump inhibitors for conditions like heartburn, gastritis and stomach ulcers. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden now report that how the long-term use of these drugs could increase the risk of developing dementia. Their results are published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia.

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