September 2, 2024
Literature Review
1) Long Covid in children - the symptoms are getting more clarity in who has what . From JAMA: 898 school-age children (751 with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and 147 without) and 4469 adolescents (3109 infected and 1360 uninfected) were included in the analysis. The time between infection and symptom analysis was 1.5 years
. In models adjusted for sex and race and ethnicity, 14 symptoms in both school-age children and adolescents were more common in those with SARS-CoV-2 infection history compared with those without infection history, with 4 additional symptoms in school-age children only and 3 in adolescents only. These symptoms affected almost every organ system. The cumulative data shows us that neurocognitive (Headache, attention concerns, sleep dysregulation), pain, and gastrointestinal symptoms in school-age children were common, but changed to loss of smell and/or taste, body aches and pain, focus struggles and fatigue related symptoms in adolescents. (Gross et. al. 2024) Age has a huge effect on these outcomes as the older population has more frequent and problematical disease findings. Mood disorder is highly associated with worsened findings. I suspect from the historical data set over the last four years that children with chronic mental stress, poor quality diets, sleep issues, and poor activity levels at baseline have worsened acute and long term prognosis.
2) Fasting is super important! Every culture on earth fasts during religious and secular ceremony in order to have clarity of mind and body. This is unlikely to be a mistake or coincidence as it relates to mental and physical health. In the Journal Cell Immunity, Dr. Delconte and colleagues noted that fasting offers these immune enhancements: 1) NK cell-mediated anti-tumor immunity, 2) metabolic reprogramming of splenic NK cells, 3) Fasting-induced fatty acid oxidation improves the NK cell anti-tumor response, 4) fasting redistributes NK cells to the bone marrow for reprogramming. (Delconte et. al. 2024)
What this data says makes intuitive sense. Obesity is heavily associated with all cause cancer. Thus the over fed state equals more cancer. The converse would state that the less fed state favors immune health that is anticancer. Fasting forces the body to look for building blocks of cells in your current tissue. It will preferentially break down old and worn down tissue. This has a metabolic and immune effect based on the data to date. Immunologically, the system shifts into a reduced inflammation and anti cancer phenotype.
3) A group out of UTEP led by Dr. Narayan have noted that PFAS chemicals and nanoplastics are altering proteins in human breastmilk. This is incredibly concerning for our infants. (UTEP Newsfeed) From the article: "BLG is a protein found in the milk of sheep and cows and is commonly used as an ingredient in infant formula. The protein binds to retinol (vitamin A) and fatty acids and is crucial for vision and brain development in infants. The research team discovered that the binding efficiency of BLG to retinol and fatty acids decreases upon exposure to nanoplastics and PFAS. This decrease, modeled by Lela Vukovic, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, can lead to significant developmental issues in neonatal infants, the team said. Additionally, for the first time ever, the team observed that PFAS binds to the milk protein, turning it into a carrier for these compounds.""Alpha-lactalbumin is found in human breast milk, participates in lactose synthesis and is ingested by infants to help meet nutritional needs. UTEP researchers found that nanoplastics and PFAS corrupt the structure of alpha-lactalbumin protein, thereby potentially compromising lactose formation. The team said the disruption can lead to downstream developmental defects in neonatal infants, such as compromised immunity and reduced mineral absorption."
PFAS and nanoparticles are becoming a ubiquitous part of modern society leading me to believe that this data is another shot across the bow of infant health and the struggles that we are seeing. Avoidance is the clear answer.
Dr. M
Karim ACS Applied Mat Surfaces
