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12/03/20

What makes the elderly and people with underlying conditions more vulnerable to COVID-19? According to a new study, clues can be found in the proteins involved in initiating infection, as the virus binds to host cells of different animals. Greater cellular oxidation with aging and sickness may explain why seniors and people with chronic illness get infected more often and more severely.

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Scientists used human white blood cell membranes to carry two drugs, an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory, directly to infected lungs in mice. The nano-sized drug delivery method successfully treated both the bacterial growth and inflammation in the mice's lungs. The study shows a potential new strategy for treating infectious diseases, including COVID-19.

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Research has yielded fundamental insights into the causes of severe birth defects known as CHARGE syndrome cases. These congenital birth defects include severe and life-threatening heart malformations. Researchers successfully inactivated the gene for CHD7 in the neural crest cells of mouse embryos, and then rigorously probed how this change in developing cardiac neural crest cells caused severe defects in the outflow tract and great arteries, leading to perinatal lethality.

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The first randomized controlled trial1,2 to assess the effectiveness of surgical face masks against SARS-CoV-2 infection specifically — which journals initially refused to publish — is finally seeing the light of day.

The so-called “Danmask-19 Trial,” published November 18, 2020, in the Annals of Internal Medicine,3 included 3,030 individuals assigned to wear a surgical face mask and 2,994 unmasked controls. Of them, 80.7% completed the study.

To qualify, participants had to spend at least three hours per day outside the home and not be required to wear a mask during their daily work. At the end of the study, participants reported having spent a median of 4.5 hours per day outside the home.

For one month, participants in the mask group were instructed to wear a mask whenever they were outside their home. Surgical face masks with a filtration rate of 98% were supplied. In accordance with recommendations from the World Health Organization, participants were instructed to change their mask after eight hours.

Antibody testing was performed before the outset and at the end of the study period. At the end of the month, they also submitted a nasal swab sample for PCR testing.

What the Danmask-19 Trial Found

The primary outcome was a positive PCR test, a positive antibody test result (IgM or IgG) during the study period, or a hospital-based diagnosis of COVID-19. Secondary end points included PCR evidence of infection with other respiratory viruses.

Based on the adherence scores reported, 46% of participants always wore the mask as recommended, 47% predominantly as recommended and 7% failed to follow recommendations. So, what did they find? As you might expect, there’s a reason why the researchers had such a hard time getting this study published:

  • Among mask wearers, 1.8% (42 participants) ended up testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, compared to 2.1% (53) among controls. When they removed the people who reported not adhering to the recommendations for use, the results remained the same — 1.8% (40 people), which suggests adherence makes no significant difference.
  • 1.4% (33 participants) tested positive for antibodies compared to 1.8% (44) of controls.
  • Among those who reported wearing their face mask “exactly as instructed,” 2% (22 participants) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 compared to 2.1% (53) of the controls.
  • 52 participants in the mask group and 39 in the control group reported COVID-19 in their household. Of these, two participants in the mask group and one in the control group developed SARS-CoV-2 infection — a finding that suggests “the source of most observed infections was outside the home.”
  • 0.5% (nine participants) in the mask group and 0.6% (11 individuals) tested positive for one or more respiratory viruses other than SARS-CoV-2 (secondary outcome).

Masks May Lower, or Raise, Infection Risk

All in all, this landmark COVID-19-specific study failed to deliver good news to those who insist face masks are a crucial component of the pandemic response. Masks may reduce your risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection by as much as 46%, or it may increase your risk by 23%. In other words, the preponderance of evidence still shows that masks have virtually no impact on viral transmission.

Another take-home point that you get from this study, which Del Bigtree points out in The Highwire video report above, is that the vast majority — 97.9% of those who didn’t wear masks, and 98.2% of those who did — remained infection free.

So, we are destroying economies and lives around the world, for what, exactly? To protect a small minority from getting a positive PCR test result which, as detailed in “Asymptomatic ‘Casedemic’ Is a Perpetuation of Needless Fear,” means little to nothing. As reported by the authors:4

“Although no statistically significant difference in SARS-CoV-2 incidence was observed, the 95% CIs are compatible with a possible 46% reduction to 23% increase in infection among mask wearers.

These findings do offer evidence about the degree of protection mask wearers can anticipate in a setting where others are not wearing masks and where other public health measures, including social distancing, are in effect …

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 may take place through multiple routes. It has been argued that for the primary route of SARS-CoV-2 spread — that is, via droplets — face masks would be considered effective, whereas masks would not be effective against spread via aerosols, which might penetrate or circumnavigate a face mask. Thus, spread of SARS-CoV-2 via aerosols would at least partially explain the present findings …

The present findings are compatible with the findings of a review of randomized controlled trials of the efficacy of face masks for prevention (as personal protective equipment) against influenza virus …

Our results suggest that the recommendation to wear a surgical mask when outside the home among others did not reduce, at conventional levels of statistical significance, the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in mask wearers in a setting where social distancing and other public health measures were in effect, mask recommendations were not among those measures, and community use of masks was uncommon.”

Government Tyrants Double Down on Mask Mandates

The researchers point out that results could potentially turn out differently if everyone were wearing a mask. At the time of the study, Danish authorities did not recommend universal mask use and most Danes did not wear them. Hence “participants’ exposure was overwhelmingly to persons not wearing masks.”

That possibility, however, is a big “if,” and not sufficient to mandate universal mask wearing. Any claim to such effect is nothing but a wholly unscientific guess. Despite that, many local leaders are now doubling down on mask mandates, some even requiring them to be worn inside your own home when anyone outside the family is present and even if physical distancing can be maintained.5

As an example of extremes, a June 2020 Harvard University paper6,7 even suggested couples should wear face masks during sex. Others are tripling down on masks, recommending you wear two or even three at the same time.8 Former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb is urging Americans to wear N95 surgical masks whenever possible.9

Epidemic of Spineless Leadership

Missing entirely from most recommendations is common-sense health guidance known to improve your immune function and lower your infection risk naturally, such as supplementing with vitamin D, NAC, melatonin, quercetin and zinc.

As noted by Angela Rasmussen, a virologist and affiliate of the Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security, in a November 15, 2020, op-ed in The Guardian,10 our immune systems know how to handle the virus; it’s our politicians who have failed to cope with it. She writes:11

“Most of the evidence in both COVID-19 patients and animal models shows that the immune response to this is quite typical for an acute viral infection. Initially, the body ramps up high levels of IgG antibodies, but after the infection is cleared, those antibodies drop to a baseline level, which may be below the limit of detection of some serological tests.

Antibodies are produced by B-cells, a specialized type of immune cell that recognizes a specific antigen, or viral target. When an infection is cleared, B-cells producing antibodies convert from being plasma cells, which are specialized to pump out massive quantities of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies, to being memory B-cells.

These cells produce lower levels of IgG antibody; but, importantly they persist in the body for years. If they are re-exposed to SARS-CoV-2, they rapidly convert to plasma cells and begin producing high levels of antibody again.

There is no indication that most COVID-19 patients are not developing immune memory, and animals experimentally infected with SARS-CoV-2 are protected against rechallenge with high doses of virus …

Furthermore, antibodies are not the only important part of the immune system. T-cells are also a key component to the immune response. They come in two flavors: helper T-cells, which coordinate immune responses and facilitate immunological memory, and killer T-cells, which kill infected cells. Previous studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2 infection induces robust T-cell responses.”

As noted by Rasmussen, the data collected on the responses of T-cells to SARS-CoV-2 infection “underscore that SARS-CoV-2 is not an anomalous virus capable of miraculous feats of immune evasion.”

In other words, provided your immune function is normal, the virus is as vulnerable as any other virus and you’re not destined to die just because you develop symptoms. So, the reason we’re in the situation we’re now in, Rasmussen says, is not because SARS-CoV-2 is somehow different or more lethal than anything that has come before. We’re in this situation due to political failures.

Mask Mandates Have Had No Impact on Infection Trends

Other data analyses that add support to the Danish study’s results include Yinon Weiss’ work presented in his article12 “These 12 Graphs Show Mask Mandates Do Nothing to Stop COVID.” In it, he shows that states’ mask rules appear to have had nothing to do with infection rates, which is what you’d expect if masks don’t work.

Weiss points out that “No matter how strictly mask laws are enforced nor the level of mask compliance the population follows, cases all fall and rise around the same time.” To see all of the graphs, check out Weiss’ article13 or Twitter thread.14 Here are just a select few to bring home the point:

austria covid-19
germany covid-19
belgium covid-19
italy covid-19
european covid-19

Masks Delay Inevitable Acceptance of COVID-19 Reality

What everyone needs to come to terms with is that we have a new respiratory virus in town — one that may stay with us indefinitely. The question then becomes, just how long do we lock ourselves in our homes and shun all social relationships?

How long do we neglect our children’s education and social development by keeping schools closed? How long do we leave our elderly family members to languish in isolation? A better part of the global population has essentially stopped living altogether, and for what? For fear of an illness that 99.7% of people recover from15 — an illness that is as likely to kill you as the seasonal influenza if you’re under 60.16

Data clearly show that COVID-19 has not resulted in excess mortality, meaning the same number of people who die in any given year, on average, have died in this year of the pandemic.17,18 Several studies19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26 also suggest immunity against SARS-CoV-2 infection is far more widespread than anyone imagined.

In an October 28, 2020, Wall Street Journal opinion piece,27 Joseph Ladapo, an associate professor at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, points out that we really must accept reality and move on with life, unpredictable as it may be. He writes:

“By paying outsize and scientifically unjustified attention to masking, mask mandates have the unintended consequence of delaying public acceptance of the unavoidable truth.

In countries with active community transmission and no herd immunity, nothing short of inhumane lockdowns can stop the spread of COVID-19, so the most sensible and sustainable path forward is to learn to live with the virus.

Shifting focus away from mask mandates and toward the reality of respiratory viral spread will free up time and resources to protect the most vulnerable Americans ...

Until the reality of viral spread in the U.S. … is accepted, political leaders will continue to feel justified in keeping schools and businesses closed, robbing young people of the opportunity to invest in their futures, and restricting activities that make life worthwhile.”

There’s Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself

Hopefully, if you’ve been reading this newsletter, you’re no longer incapacitated with fear and are capable of making more level-headed decisions based on the data at hand rather than the fear porn published in the daily papers. For the latest news and top tips for combating COVID-19, check out my Coronavirus Resource Page.

Everything really points to this pandemic being overblown and prolonged for purposes that have nothing to do with saving lives and everything to do with “resetting” the global financial and power structures — none of which will benefit us.

The lockdowns are essentially just conditioning you to accept a radically new way of life — one in which we have limited ability to travel or work, one in which we’re conditioned to being partially or wholly dependent on a government handout, one in which we must submit to being tracked and surveilled with little or no right to privacy, one in which the government dictates how you can spend your time, where you can go, who you can spend time with and for how long. 

Eventually, once the global economies are in irreparable shambles, the central banks will roll out a debt erasure program to solve all our problems. The price will be your humanity, your freedom. Will you pay it? Or will you resist the whole deviled scheme while you still can?



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Astaxanthin is a naturally occurring carotenoid with a wide variety of nutraceutical applications in the fight against diseases. Data now reveal astaxanthin has significant promise as a geroprotector, helping to slow brain aging.1 Astaxanthin is responsible for the pink or red color of salmon, trout, lobster and other seafood.2

According to Science Direct, “when compared to other antioxidants such as lycopene, vitamin E and vitamin A,” astaxanthin comes out on top and is often referred to as the “king of antioxidants.”3 It is derived from Haematococcus microalgae, which produce astaxanthin as a protective mechanism to shield from harsh ultraviolet (UV) light.4

In your body, it works as an antioxidant to help protect against reactive oxygen species and oxidation. These processes play a role in aging, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.5 Data show astaxanthin can protect your skin against free radical damage from UV light from the inside out.6

In 2015, NASA presented at the 66th International Astronautical Conference and shared information showing that a supply of astaxanthin from natural sources could potentially prevent the negative effects of radiation exposure, damage to the eyes and other health effects known to occur to astronauts in space.7,8

Powerful Antioxidant Slows Brain Aging

Researchers writing in the journal Marine Drugs recognize the challenge of maintaining brain function and well-being as human life expectancy lengthens.9 Recent studies have evaluated the neuroprotective effect astaxanthin has on preserving brain aging in experimental models.

In their review of the literature, the scientists identified several pathways astaxanthin may take in slowing brain aging. They evaluated the results of clinical trials where the endpoint measure was disease and disability.

They found several studies where astaxanthin modulated biological mechanisms, including transcription factors and genes directly related to longevity. One of the main relevant factors modulated by astaxanthin is the forkhead box 03 gene (FOXO3). This is one of only two genes with a significant impact on human longevity.

Additionally, in their search of the literature, they found astaxanthin increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in the brain and can attenuate oxidative damage to DNA, lipids and protein.10

They concluded that it was possible astaxanthin can promote longevity and slow the rate of aging. The neuroprotective properties appear to be attributed to astaxanthin’s ability to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation as well as improve mitochondrial function and the dysregulation of gene expression that occurs with aging.

Brain Aging Affects Mental Function

The data showing astaxanthin may help slow brain aging is significant since the neurological aging process is directly tied to cognitive function. Cognitive changes that can occur, but are not necessarily normal, include finding it difficult to remember words, recall names, having difficulty with multitasking or having more difficulty paying attention.11

According to the National Institute on Aging, some of the common changes that can occur in the brain include loss of brain volume, decreased blood flow, inflammation and reduced effectiveness in communication between neurons. Each of these changes affect cognitive function.

After age 40, data show the volume of the brain can decline at a rate of 5% for every decade. This rate can increase as a person reaches 70 and older.12 The primary factor for this shrinking is unclear but scientists suggest there is a decline in volume rather than in the number of neurons that may have a relationship to gender.

Although experts find there are common changes in thinking abilities that decline with age, they also find reading, vocabulary and verbal reasoning may improve as a person ages.13 With abnormal aging changes, there may be severe cognitive impairment that affects memory, problem solving and behavior, associated with dementia.

According to the Alzheimer's Association, there are more than 5 million in the U.S. who have Alzheimer's and that number is expected to nearly triple to 14 million by 2050.14 The cost of these dementias is projected to be $305 billion in 2020 and estimated to rise as high as $1.1 trillion by 2050.

What Makes Astaxanthin Unique?

Although astaxanthin is related to beta-carotene, lutein and canthaxanthin, the molecular structure is unique and more potent than other carotenoids. One of the key differences is that astaxanthin has a surplus of electrons to donate as it neutralizes free radicals.15 

Antioxidants work by donating one of their electrons to a free radical in order to stabilize it. However, in donating an electron the antioxidant may then become unstable. Astaxanthin has a surplus of electrons and so can donate many times without becoming unstable itself.16

One of the more unique features of astaxanthin is that it's able to protect both water- and fat-soluble parts of the cell. This feature makes astaxanthin powerful. In one study analyzing several antioxidants and their effectiveness, data show astaxanthin had antioxidant power greater than alpha-lipoic acid, green tea catechins, CoQ10 and vitamin C.17

Most antioxidant carotenoids are either water-soluble or fat-soluble, but astaxanthin can interface between water and fat, which makes it more effective. Astaxanthin also can cross the blood-brain barrier, where it can exert a strong protective effect on your neurological health.18

Lastly, astaxanthin cannot function as a prooxidant,19 which are molecules that cause rather than combat oxidation.20 Other antioxidants can be prooxidants when there is a sufficient concentration, which is one reason you don't want to take too many antioxidant supplements. However, astaxanthin will not function as a prooxidant, even when present in large amounts.

Astaxanthin Has Whole Body Benefits

Evidence shows astaxanthin benefits your whole body. Multiple studies demonstrate the beneficial effect it has on skin health and the protection it offers against UV sun damage, increasing skin elasticity and reducing the appearance of fine wrinkles.21,22,23 Unlike topical sunblock, astaxanthin does not block UV rays so you get the benefit of your skin producing vitamin D from UVB light.

The effect is so potent it can protect against total body irradiation24 and burn wound progression.25 As effective as it is on the tissue you see, astaxanthin also has a significant impact on your internal organs and tissues.

In one double-blind, placebo-controlled study, people who took 12 milligrams (mg) of astaxanthin daily for eight weeks had a 20.7% decrease in C-reactive protein, a marker for heart disease.26 In another study published in Atherosclerosis, participants were randomly selected to take a placebo or a daily dose of astaxanthin for 12 weeks at 6 mg, 12 mg or 18 mg per day.27

In before and after testing, those taking astaxanthin experienced a positive effect on their triglyceride and HDL levels that correlated with increased adiponectin, a protein that regulates glucose found in fat tissue.28 Astaxanthin is also a potent preventive and treatment for age-related macular degeneration, which is the most common cause of blindness in the elderly.29

Astaxanthin demonstrates the ability to protect retinal cells from oxidative stress in lab studies.30 A review of the literature suggests astaxanthin may be effective in the prevention and treatment of several ocular diseases, “including diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and cataract.”31

Studies have also delved into astaxanthin's effects on cancer. Both in vivo and in vitro preclinical antitumor effects have been demonstrated in various cancer models. According to a study published in 2015, astaxanthin:32

"… exerts its anti-proliferative, anti-apoptosis and anti-invasion influence via different molecules and pathways including signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ). Hence, [astaxanthin] shows great promise as chemotherapeutic agents in cancer."

Antioxidant Calms the Cytokine Storm

The extent of the benefits of this powerful antioxidant are still being discovered. In the recent COVID-19 pandemic, researchers have found indications that justify the potential for including natural astaxanthin in combination with other treatments to benefit people with COVID-19.

A recent paper published on the research library website SSRN found the unique molecular structure of astaxanthin allows it to penetrate cell membranes and quench reactive oxygen species and free radicals on the inner and outer layer of the membrane. This provides superior protection against oxidative stress. The scientists wrote:33

“Clinically, natural astaxanthin has shown diverse benefits with excellent safety and reported to block oxidative DNA damage, lowered C-reactive protein (CRP) and other inflammation biomarkers. Previous studies reported that natural astaxanthin exert positive effects in alleviating cytokine storm, acute lung injury, acute respiratory syndrome, etc …

Current understandings based on accumulated evidences suggest that SARS-CoV-2 induces a potential amplified inflammatory response to sequential consequences of ALI [acute lung injury], ARDS [acute respiratory distress syndrome] to a life-threatening dire consequence of potential septic shock with elevated expression of inflammatory related genes along with inevitable secondary infections, rather than increased viral load …

… the attenuation of the cytokine storm by targeting key steps in the process may deliver improved outcomes … Shi et al. suggested a two-phase approach for potential treatments of COVID-19 patients: the first immune defense-based protective phase for non-severe COVID-19 cases and the second, inflammation-driven damaging phase for severe COVID-19 patients.”

According to the authors, astaxanthin may be uniquely suited for the task of protecting cells against SARS-CoV-2. The scientists list multiple pathways astaxanthin is known to work that could effectively inhibit a cytokine storm in severe COVID-19. They wrote that astaxanthin:34

“… with its proven anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activity backed by multiple preclinical and human trials and with its extraordinary safety profile can be one of the most promising candidates to be tried against COVID-19.

Taken together, we speculate that implications of astaxanthin as adjunctive countermeasure in the treatment of COVID-19 may exert dual purpose of both as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound with beneficial outcome of reduce fatality and rapid recovery …"

In short, astaxanthin ticks many important boxes to ameliorate COVID-19, including immune response regulation and the enhancement of both cell-mediated and humoral immune responses. You’ll find more in my article, “Astaxanthin Helps Alleviate Cytokine Storm.”



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