Lymphatic Health

Dry brushing for lymphatic drainage and support

Med Establishment STUNNED By Brain Discovery THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING
Shalin Bhatt, a med student, discovered that there is a lymphatic connection with the brain (it was previously believed that there was no connection between the CNS and the lymphatic system).  This discovery shows us that NOT everything has been discovered by western medicine.  It also has implications for the function of the immune system and the gut-brain connection and much more.  

He calls his discovery the "Cerebrolymph Hypothesis" which he describes as an "anatomical framework for where CSF is produced".  CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) is produced in the deep brain region called the Choroid Plexus in the Ventricular System then it travels through the Subarachnoid Space (recently dubbed the Glymphatic System), then through the Meningeal Lymphatic Vessels into the last step (which is what he discovered) which is the Nerve-Adjacent Lymphatic Vessels Exiting Foramina.  This is where the fluid then enters the Peripheral Lymphatic System, the connection was not previously known.  This is essentially the "cleaning system" of the brain.  

This has implications for Alzheimer's research which has thus far focused on the proteins that build up in the brain, the Amyloid Plaques and and Tau Protein, but has not included the aspect of the dynamics of the cleaning process that would normally keep these proteins from building up in the first place.  This may lead to treatments that focus on repairing or maintaining the flow of lymph in the neck to treat or avoid Alzheimer's.  Shalin remarks that a lot of medical research is studying and validating traditional therapies (in this case acupuncture).  He mentions research showing benefits of acupuncture for Long COVID patients as well as Lymphedema and the associated brain fog.  Eastern medicine often considers the importance of flow in the body- could this be a concrete example?

This same researcher also published a theory recently called Glymphovasomotor Field Theory (GVF) which takes the idea that when a fluid moves (or circulates) that has ions in it, it creates an electromagnetic current, and applies it to the brain- if the CSF has ions in it and it moves through a structured flow pattern, maybe it creates an electromagnetic field- and maybe those fields effect neurons (which operate via electrical impulses).  This may have implications for consciousness.  

Yale Study About Post-Vaccine Syndrome

(This is a pre-print, I will update this post as more information becomes available)

Immunological and Antigenic Signatures Associated with Chronic Illnesses after COVID-19 Vaccination
"To explore potential pathobiological features associated with PVS (Post-Vaccine Syndrome), we conducted a decentralized, cross-sectional study involving 42 PVS participants and 22 healthy controls enrolled in the Yale LISTEN study. Compared with controls, PVS participants exhibited differences in immune profiles, including reduced circulating memory and effector CD4 T cells (type 1 and type 2) and an increase in TNFα+ CD8 T cells. PVS participants also had lower anti-spike antibody titers, primarily due to fewer vaccine doses. Serological evidence of recent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation was observed more frequently in PVS participants. Further, individuals with PVS exhibited elevated levels of circulating spike protein compared to healthy controls. These findings reveal potential immune differences in individuals with PVS that merit further investigation to better understand this condition and inform future research into diagnostic and therapeutic approaches."

Protocol for Vaccine Injury Management (from Dr Been, based on Yale study)

Dr Been's video about this study

Mast Cell Disease and Long COVID (aka PACS)

Long COVID and MCAS
Post-COVID Conditions: Information for Healthcare Providers
This is the CDC's current guidelines for treating Long COVID and they specifically mention MCAS as a possible cause of Long COVID symptoms that should be addressed.  They do not give information about diagnosing and treating MCAS however (here is the site they link to for more info about MCAS).

Missouri doctors make discovery about possible cause of long COVID
"Dr. Leonard Weinstock, a gastroenterologist at Missouri Baptist Medical Center, and others found that mast cell activation symptoms were increased in long COVID-19 patients.  Weinstock and his team hypothesized that the mast cell activation could cause long COVID-19 symptoms. They also believe that long COVID-19 symptoms could be mitigated by preventing mast cell activation."
The study referenced in this article can be found here.

Immunological dysfunction and mast cell activation syndrome in long COVID
"Long COVID-19 is the consequence of multiple immune system dysregulation, such as T-cell depletion, innate immune cell hyperactivity, lack of naive T and B cells, and elevated signature of pro-inflammatory cytokines, together with persistent severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 reservoir and other consequences of acute infection. There is an activated condition of mast cells in long COVID-19, with abnormal granulation and excessive inflammatory cytokine release. A study by Weinstock et al. indicates that patients with long COVID-19 suffer the same clinical syndrome as patients with mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS). Diagnosis and treatment of MCAS in patients with long COVID-19 will provide further symptomatic relief, and manage mast cell-mediated hyperinflammation states, which could be useful in the long-term control and recovery of such patients."

Mast cell activation symptoms are prevalent in Long-COVID
"In the present study, there was a high prevalence of MCA symptoms in LC patients prior to MCAS treatment. The symptom data and spider web plots illustrated that LC patients’ symptoms are virtually identical to those experienced by MCAS patients. These results support, but do not provide definitive proof of, our earlier hypothesis that LC might often arise out of a SARS-CoV-2-driven provocation of primary or secondary MCAS. Theories to explain promotion of MCA in LC include: 1) complex interactions of stressor-induced cytokine storms with epigenetic-variant-induced states of genomic fragility to induce additional somatic mutations in stem cells or other mast cell progenitors; 2) cytokine or SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus activation of mast cells and microglia; 3) dysregulation of genes by SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus leading to loss of genetic regulation of mast cells;  4) development of autoantibodies which react with immunoglobulin receptors on mast cells,  and 5) increase in Toll-like receptor activity by the coronavirus.  

In this study, MCA symptoms were significantly increased in LC. Uncontrolled, aberrant mast cells may in part underlie the pathophysiology of LC. Inflammation caused by COVID-19 is complicated, and other immune disturbances that have been seen in the acute infection such as excess dysfunction of the macrophage and serotonin release from platelets might or might not play roles in LC"

MCAS activated by Long COVID or PACS or by MIS-C or PIMS and MCAS activated by Vaccines or by Post Vaccine Syndrome: CRITERIA FOR CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS
"In Long COVID or Post-Acute COVID Syndrome (PACS), in Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in children (MIS-C or PIMS) and in Post Vaccine Syndrome, in addition to the symptoms of Hypoperfusion, Hyper-coagulability and Microclots (HHM), it is very important to identify the symptoms associated with Hypersensitivity (HS), Allergies, Histaminosis and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) which are also a frequent cause of persistent symptoms. But, several of the patients who present persistent symptoms after having COVID or MIS-C are not diagnosed in a timely manner for Histaminosis, Tryptasemia, , mast cell activation disorder (MCAD), MCAS, and several years may pass and they may even be admitted to a hospital or psychiatric center. with a treatment that does not correspond, so we have considered it convenient to disseminate for free the criteria that we have developed, which have taken as reference the current International Consensus Criteria for MCAS, which gives a high level of support for your application. The references of the scientific publications taken into account are available in the document at the following link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376047625 In a similar way to what occurs in Long COVID or PACS and in MIS-C or PIMS, vaccination against COVID can cause the activation of an MCAS in a patient who did not have it, or the enhancement of an already existing MCAS, therefore we have included the diagnosis of MCAS activated by COVID Vaccines or by Post-Vaccine COVID Syndrome, and we must mention that there is a significant number of these cases without, to date, having agreed upon and disseminated criteria for their adequate diagnosis and treatment."

 

How to Treat Long COVID

 Safety and efficacy of low dose naltrexone in a long covid cohort; an interventional pre-post study

Evaluation of nutrition risk and its association with mortality risk in severely and critically ill COVID-19 patients
"Most severely and critically ill patients infected with SARS CoV-2 are at nutrition risk.  The patients with higher nutrition risk have worse outcome and require nutrition therapy."

Combining L-Arginine with vitamin C improves long-COVID symptoms: The LINCOLN Survey
"Recent evidence suggests that oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction play critical roles in the pathophysiology of COVID-19 and Long-COVID. We hypothesized that a supplementation combining L-Arginine (to improve endothelial function) and Vitamin C (to reduce oxidation) could have favorable effects on Long-COVID symptoms.  Our survey indicates that the supplementation with L-Arginine + Vitamin C has beneficial effects in Long-COVID, in terms of attenuating its typical symptoms and improving effort perception."

Effects of l-Arginine Plus Vitamin C Supplementation on Physical Performance, Endothelial Function, and Persistent Fatigue in Adults with Long COVID: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial
"Long COVID, a condition characterized by symptom and/or sign persistence following an acute COVID-19 episode, is associated with reduced physical performance and endothelial dysfunction. Supplementation of l-arginine may improve endothelial and muscle function by stimulating nitric oxide synthesis.  l-arginine plus vitamin C supplementation improved walking performance, muscle strength, endothelial function, and fatigue in adults with long COVID. This supplement may, therefore, be considered to restore physical performance and relieve persistent symptoms in this patient population."

Alleviation of Post-COVID-19 Cognitive Deficits by Treatment with EGb 761®: A Case Series
"In many studies, EGb 761 has been demonstrated to protect endothelial cells, to have potent anti-inflammatory effects, and to enhance neuroplasticity. CASE REPORT Here, we report for the first time the application of EGb 761 in the therapy of post-COVID-19-related cognitive deficits. Three women and 2 men, aged 26 to 59 years (average age 34.6 years), presented with concentration and attention deficits, cognitive deficiencies, and/or fatigue 9-35 weeks after infection. A daily dose of 2×80 mg of EGb 761 did not cause any detectable adverse effects, and it substantially improved or completely restored cognitive deficits and, when initially present, also other symptoms, such as fatigue and hyposmia, within an observation period of up to 6 months."

NAD+ in COVID-19 and viral infections
"NAD+, as an emerging regulator of immune responses during viral infections, may be a promising therapeutic target for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this Opinion, we suggest that interventions that boost NAD+ levels might promote antiviral defense and suppress uncontrolled inflammation. We discuss the association between low NAD+ concentrations and risk factors for poor COVID-19 outcomes, including aging and common comorbidities. Mechanistically, we outline how viral infections can further deplete NAD+ and its roles in antiviral defense and inflammation. We also describe how coronaviruses can subvert NAD+-mediated actions via genes that remove NAD+ modifications and activate the NOD-, LRR-, and pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome. Finally, we explore ongoing approaches to boost NAD+ concentrations in the clinic to putatively increase antiviral responses while curtailing hyperinflammation."

Evaluation of thiamine as adjunctive therapy in COVID-19 critically ill patients: a two-center propensity score matched study
"Thiamine is a precursor of the essential coenzyme thiamine pyrophosphate required for glucose metabolism; it improves the immune system function and has shown to reduce the risk of several diseases. The role of thiamine in critically ill septic patient has been addressed in multiple studies.

Thiamine also works as a carbonic anhydrase isoenzyme inhibitor; thus, high doses of thiamine given to patients at the early stages of COVID-19 could limit hypoxia and decrease hospitalization [16]. Additionally, an in-vitro study found that high-dose thiamine lowers the T-helper cells (Th-17) cell pro-inflammatory response believed to be associated with the COVID-19 cytokine storm [17]"

Therapeutic Prospects for Th-17 Cell Immune Storm Syndrome and Neurological Symptoms in COVID-19: Thiamine Efficacy and Safety, In-vitro Evidence and Pharmacokinetic Profile
"Three-week of 200 mg daily thiamine treatment significantly lowered the baseline IL-17 levels while increased IL-22 levels (anti-inflammatory response)."

Cardiac Manifestations of MCAS, with an Emphasis on POTS/Dysautonomia, Long COVID, and COVID Vaccine Injury

Cardiac Manifestations of MCAS with Dr. Andrew Maxwell
(interviewed by Tanya Dempsey, transcript here.  Dr. Maxwell is a board-certified pediatric cardiologist and pediatrician. He received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins Medical School and a residency in pediatrics at the University of California at San Francisco, followed by clinical and research fellowships in pediatric cardiology at Lucille Salter Packard in Stanford Hospitals and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia)

"Dr. Maxwell walks us through his thinking and how MCAS is linked to POTS and Long COVID. This episode is a must-listen for patients and practitioners alike."  He says this connection is more important than ever because " in the age of COVID where we're seeing more POTS, Kounis syndrome, myocarditis and even inappropriate sinus tachycardia, which I see a lot of, which is probably a localized version of myocarditis."

Mast cells can cause dysautonomia and POTS, and this is often connected with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS).  He says the major issue underlying MCAS is an environmental exposure which can be a pathogen (like a virus) or a toxic substance.  In the case of Long COVID and COVID vaccine injury, he says it's probably the spike protein that is the toxic element activating mast cells because that's what the virus and the vaccine have in common.  He says that "mast cells are doing a lot of the things that we are seeing in these patients causing post COVID long haul syndrome leading to POTS with or without the post COVID long haul. I mean, it could be very specifically POTS, it could be very specifically Kounis syndrome. It could be very specifically myocarditis, could be very specifically inappropriate sinus tachycardia. But I believe mast cells are very frequently the underlying mediator of that inflammation. Now, it could be where it’s partly a mediator and something more direct or some other thing as being a mediator as well. But I see time and time again a pretty good response to full mast cell suppression. So that, that again informs us that very commonly it’s mast cells doing the mediation."

"Kounis syndrome is basically an allergic spasm of the coronary arteries. And so when you have a spasm of the coronary arteries, you have essentially all the signs and symptoms of the angina that might lead one to believe they’re having problems with coronary perfusion. And you are. But it is reversible with, with mast cell medications."  He says he doesn't think his colleagues are making the connection that this chest pain is related to mast cell activation and therefore can be treated with mast cell meds effectively.  He also believes that Kounis Syndrome is much more common than previously thought, so it's important to get the word out and inform more doctors about it.

He says he identifies MCAS patients by taking a close look at their clinical picture, really looking at their symptoms across body systems, and taking a thorough medical history.  This shows if a viral infection seems to have been the trigger.  He points out that some patients have never had a positive test for COVID but were known to have been exposed and developed "long haul" symptoms following the exposure at the right time, so they were just asymptomatic.  "What I kind of look, try to look for is the food sensitivities, the GI distresses that are a little bit different with mast cell activation. And then the one particular feature, what I call rushes of flushes, which is sure there’s tachycardia and palpitations, burst of racing heart palpitations, but you can find that in both the straightforward dysautonomia and mast cell activation. So how do you tell the difference between the two? You get the flushing and the rashiness with rushes of flushes. And that’s kind of how I say, okay, this is definitely a mast cell phenomenon going on."

In diagnosing and treating mast cell disease, he doesn't rely much on lab testing.  He feels it doesn't add much to his understanding of the patient or how he will treat them, which is driven by their symptom presentation "we might start with that type of therapy including fludrocortisone, midodrine, corlanor, beta blockers, pyridostigmine, that type of medication directed toward dysautonomia slash POTS."  After that, he will employ what he calls his "bicycle tire management strategy" which means:

"What I mean by the bicycle tire management strategy is you gotta consider mast cell activation like a bicycle tire with about seven holes in it. And those holes are you know, excessive histamine consumption in the diet. The GI tract as being a source of additional mast cell activation, so having the GI tract in order, and then mast cell action itself, both systemically and within the GI tract. And then those particular receptors of histamine, H1 and H2. So therapy would be an H1 blocker, an H2 blocker, mast cell suppression systemically with usually a lukast. Zafirlukast is what I prefer. I usually avoid montelukast and with a cromolyn substance in the gut. So Gastrocrom here in the US. Finally, quercetin is a natural version of the systemic mast cell stabilizer. So I usually have patients on quercetin. I consider it kind of a freebie that not really being exposed to a med is very safe, so why not? And then making sure the GI motility is working well, making sure that there’s no evidence of what we call SIBO, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, doesn’t necessarily mean I work them up for that in any way. I just mean I put ’em on probiotics. Make sure if they have any evidence of slow GI motility, put ’em on a burra, gass or ginger root extract (not sure what "burra" or "gass" refer to). Rarely have to go something more extensive medication-wise with that. And then of course, put them on a low histamine diet, make sure they’re not adding histamine to their system. That’s usually the, the, in my view, patching all seven holes of that bicycle tire. And when you have all seven holes patched, You can expect a change."

When asked why he prefers Zafirlukast over Monteleukast, he says it is primarily because he sees Monteleukast cause a lot of depression in his patients.  He attributes this to mast cells releasing elastases, that breakdown the blood-brain-barrier (and also the gut barrier and the endothelial layer in capillaries) by breaking down small proteins called cadherins that hold these things together, making them "leaky".  He says he sees similar results with a lot of the dopamine agonist antagonists like Reglan.  He speculates that this scenario may be more common in children.  Dr Dempsey points out that she sees better responses to Monteleukast (and other meds) when they are compounded, so the excipients used in the standard formulations may be the problem.  

(This is his complete quote from above, included because it may be of particular interest to some readers "Mast cells not only secrete histamine, but they secrete elastases and elastases breakdown the little proteins that hold things together, what are called cadherins and maybe other proteins too. But I really focus on the cadherins. Cadherins hold together, the GI epithelium, that’s the E-cadherin. So that’s where your leaky gut comes from and it holds together what are called VE-cadherins hold together, the capillaries, the endothelium within capillaries. And so if they break down, you get increased leaky capillary in general, but blood-brain barrier. And we see that with not only montelukast, we see it with a lot of the dopamine agonist antagonists like Reglan where patients will much more commonly have extra pyraminal effects being put on Reglan and other types of dopamine modifying agents.")

They go on to discuss the idea of grouping together conditions like MCAS, POTS, and other commonly comorbid conditions because it's clear that these conditions frequently occur together.  At first, doctors referred to "the triad" which included MCAS, EDS, and dysautonomia.  It then expanded to "the pentad" when GI dysmotility (GI involvement in general) and autoimmunity were added.  The direction of causality is unclear- which condition came first?  Did the leaky gut become an "auto-antibody generator over time"?  Did the autoimmunity start this whole progression?  The idea of identifying the 5 main pieces is that a patient would then need to set up a team of 5 doctors to manage these conditions, although in reality that is often not possible to do.  Then the next two conditions were added, bringing it to "the septad"- many patients had underlying infections, such as Lyme Disease, and they also had what is often called "ME/CFS" which is now generally recognized to be mitochondrial dysfunction.  Dr Dempsey than added 3 more things to bring it up to a "decad" including small fiber neuropathy, cervical instability and tethered cord, and autoimmune encephalopathy (such as PANDAS/PANS).  This last component acknowledges the brain fog and cognitive issues, the neuropsychiatric issues, and endocrine issues especially thyroid, adrenal, and sex hormone issues.  Dr Maxwell adds that he sees many of these additional pathologies that are being added to the list as sub-forms of things already on the list, so it may not make much difference how much you expand the list or keep it short in terms of making sure that you recognize and treat the patient's whole picture.  

It's worth noting that in the above discussion, Dr Maxwell puts forth the idea that there can be localized expressions of some of these conditions that may not meet full criteria, that were caused by a localized environmental exposure.  For example, a person who was exposed to "something that’s aerosolized and breathed in, and what happens is you have a localized nasal pharyngeal mast cell activation that then causes havoc in the nasal pharyngeal region, specifically CCI, TMJ issues, and then loss of airway. So the airway becomes floppy for different reasons. And so you see these particular patients and they’re kind of a setup for this phenomenon I see and call "spiky leaky syndrome." (CCI is cranial cervical instability, meaning the vertebrae in the neck are unstable).

Dr Maxwell is then asked if how he sees the patient picture changes how he treats the mast cells and he says generally, no, that he pretty much starts everyone on his usual mast cell protocol.  If a patient seems to need more than that, he says "another strategy I have are IV infusions of mast cell meds... getting saline along with Benadryl, Toradol, Ativan, and famotidine and IV form, and oftentimes on ondansetron as well. And so that often works much more effectively than the oral forms."  He may also increase the dose of LDN (Low Dose Naltrexone).  He also adds that if a patient is really "POTSie" and has "angina type symptoms and you’re thinking the mast cell meds aren’t gonna work fast enough for that, you might try some antianginal type strategy, something like a nitric oxide releaser to open up their coronaries as quick as possible."  

They then go on to discuss how mast cells are related to and can cause Dysautonomia and POTS, and specifically how the COVID virus and the COVID vaccines have both been shown in research to contribute to the onset of both Dysautonomia and POTS specifically.  This discussion begins at [00:26:26] in the interview- if this is very interesting to you, I suggest going to the interview and reading the entire very long quote.  This is my summary of what Dr Maxwell is saying:

POTS is basically what happens when the person's venous system becomes "saggy" and "stretchy" rather than as rigid as it needs to be to appropriately control blood flow throughout the body as the body moves around and changes position.  When the person stands up, the venous system is too "saggy" to bring the full amount of blood up to the heart to fill it when ti pumps so it pumps partially empty, resulting in low cardiac output.  This causes the heart to beat faster, as tachycardia, in an attempt to increase cardiac output.  One of the reasons that MCAS more broadly and COVID or COVID vaccine injury more specifically can cause this situation is that the spike protein activates mast cells, which then release mediators that break down the connective tissue of the venous system itself, causing it to become too "saggy" to function properly. 

He says there are also several ways that mast cell activity can affect the functioning of the autonomic nervous system directly, which is the branch of the nervous system that regulates things like circulation, heart rate, and blood pressure.  "(M)ast cells activated in the gut can then cause inflammation of the sensory portion of the Vagus nerve. It’s the information heading back to the brain. And so if it’s irritating and inflaming the sensory portion of the Vagus nerve, it’s as I consider it like almost like a CPU u you know, computer system with information going into the CPU, if it’s garbage in, it’s gonna be garbage back out. And so, it affects how the motor portion of the Vagus nerve works. And so you have a dysautonomia of the motor portion of the Vagus nerve that results from a inflammation of the sensory portion of the Vagus."

He outlines another way that mast cell activation can lead directly to dysfunction of the Vagus nerve as well as several other cranial nerves, which could also be leading to POTS and Dysautonomia in patients following a COVID infection or vaccine injury.  Mast cells in the neck becoming activated could be releasing the mediators mentioned above that can "tenderize" connective tissues, in this case ligaments in the neck that hold the cervical vertebrae in place.  This could in theory result in a situation very similar to what is called CCI (Cranial Cervical Instability) and is often seen in EDS patients (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which is often comorbid with MCAS). He sees this as essentially "carpal tunnel syndrome" of the neck but says that because it acquired by mast cell activation, it is more of a clinical diagnosis and may not show up on the radiology and other types of testing used to identify CCI in EDS patients, that is more structural.  In this scenario, the C1 vertebra (aka the atlas) becomes loose and unstable, and gets pushed forward, which compresses the cranial nerves 9, 10 (the Vagus nerve), and 11 that are exiting the spine at that spot.  Those nerves are then compressed against the jugular vein, which is then compressed against the stylo hyoid ligament.  If this situation becomes chronic, these nerves can become damaged, which can then lead to dysfunction of the parasympathetic nervous system by way of a little bit of CCI.  

More evidence that this happening is that you’re also seeing cranial nerve 9 and cranial nerve 11 dysfunction, which can present as tinnitus, phonophobia (sensitivity to and/or fear of certain sounds) and hyperacusis (an abnormally strong reaction to sound, occurring within the auditory pathways), vertigo, and what’s called globus feeling of a mass in the back of the throat.  Dr Maxwell says he also sometimes sees "what’s called eagle syndrome type symptoms with turning the head and having pain upon turning your head. From side to side, sharp stabbing pains in the neck or pain at the base of the tongue. Those are all glossopharyngeal nerve findings. And then the cranial nerve 11 is a motor nerve to the trapezius and it innervates the trapezius. So when it’s injured, oftentimes will cause a knottiness something beyond coat hanger pain in the trapezius, but rather a knottiness in the trapezius. So when you hear these patients complaining of all these symptoms, that it sounds almost crazy that they’re related. No, there’s one place in the body where these three nerves are together and they happen to run right in front of the lateral process of c1. So when that slips forward and chronically does so, I think it causes this, this list of symptoms together."

When Dr Maxwell is asked how he manages and treats this situation with the slipped C1 vertebra if he suspects it, he responds "I will get the physical therapist involved. And I’ll often assess their airway as well, because if they have that going on, they may have a floppy airway as well, and they may be losing it at night and showing what we call upper airway resistance syndrome, which is a subtle form of sleep apnea. So we oftentimes, I get sleep studies to look at that. Oftentimes I’ll get ENT and the oral airway doctors including oral surgeons involved to make sure that they’re not losing their airway, myofunctional therapists to help strengthen the musculature of the airway. And then there’s a class of physical therapists that are geared entirely toward CCI. So I will get them and get them involved. One of the things that I’ve found useful as a test of concept in these patients is what happens if they were to get some what’s called NUCCA therapy, NUCCA. And that’s a particular form of chiropractic therapy that focuses on the Atlas. And so these NUCCA chiropractors have been very, very helpful in putting C1 back in place. And these patients can respond right away to their POTS like symptoms. Their dysautonomia improves right away."  He says this is a test of concept because while the NUCCA therapy is very effective, the improvements don't last long. He discusses prolotherapy as an option and says that he encourages the therapist to inject platelet-rich plasma (from the patient in order to avoid MCAS being triggered by something foreign).  

He sees this therapy, like he does the POTS therapies, as "band-aid" therapies to help as the longer-term stabilization of the mast cells and treatment of any residual COVID is taking effect.  This may include the body clearing residual spike protein, treating a lingering COVID infection, or treating another infection that was latent and reactivated from the immune suppression of the COVID or vaccine (such as HHV6, EBV, or Lyme).  He says he will treat with anti-virals if "the PCRs are positive or if the IGMs for those viruses are positive".  

They discuss this paper Apparent risks of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome diagnoses after COVID-19 vaccination and SARS-Cov-2 Infection, which found a significantly higher risk of developing certain conditions associated with POTS after both COVID infection and COVID vaccines, including Dysautonomia, POTS, and MCAS, as well as some other conditions including UTIs, lower back pain, and symptoms like dizziness, fatigue, and anxiety.  They go on to talk about how complicated it is to weigh the costs and benefits of vaccination for the population of people who already have any of these conditions or who are at higher risk for developing them, especially given that the nature of COVID infection has changed. 

Dr Maxwell's last message for patients "for the patients seeking help, you know, find the right provider that works with you. Don’t let someone dismiss you. I hear again and again being told, you know, there’s no point in managing anything. You’re gonna get better with your long COVID. And you know, we’ve seen long COVID patients two years out who were just struggling, not everybody. And it’s great to see some patients getting better even on their own. But you never know who thoses are gonna be, and so you’re gonna want to try to modify what could be a very long road. And so you know, make sure you’re finding someone who’s addressing your issues that has a a pretty good handle on the underlying causes that can do it in a systematic way. And I think you’ll have some success."

Further information on the topics discussed in this interview:

Mast cells in the autonomic nervous system and potential role in disorders with dysautonomia and neuroinflammation
"Mast cells... having potential involvement in the pathophysiology of dysautonomias and neuroinflammatory disorders. MC are located perivascularly close to nerve endings and sites such as the carotid bodies, heart, hypothalamus, the pineal gland, and the adrenal gland that would allow them not only to regulate but also to be affected by the autonomic nervous system (ANS). MC are stimulated not only by allergens but also many other triggers including some from the ANS that can affect MC release of neurosensitizing, proinflammatory, and vasoactive mediators. Hence, MC may be able to regulate homeostatic functions that seem to be dysfunctional in many conditions, such as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, and Long-COVID syndrome."

Phonophobia and Hyperacusis: Practical Points from a Case Report

NUCCA

Prolotherapy

POTS association with COVID-19 vaccination and COVID-19 infection
"Although any comparison of post-exposure rates should be interpreted cautiously, given the baseline differences in POTS incidence in the two mutually exclusive populations, these results indicate that POTS might be occurring at a higher-than-expected frequency following COVID-19 vaccination, although at an overall rate lower than the frequency of POTS occurring following SARS-CoV-2 infection."

Apparent risks of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome diagnoses after COVID-19 vaccination and SARS-Cov-2 Infection
 "POTS-related diagnoses appear to be acquired with increased frequency after, compared to before, COVID-19 vaccination, particularly when compared to more commonly diagnosed conditions"

"For new diagnoses made after vaccination, we found that the five conditions with the highest post-vaccination odds of new diagnoses were myocarditis, dysautonomia, POTS, mast cell activation syndrome and urinary tract infection (UTI). Two POTS-associated conditions had lower odds, with fatigue demonstrating a moderate ratio and Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (EDS) having the second from the lowest ratio."

"There is biological plausibility for the association between POTS and COVID-19 vaccination in particular. Before the pandemic, mRNA vaccination had been administered in small trials predominantly involving cancer therapy, demonstrating rare off-target neurological effects such as Bell’s palsy, which has also been seen with COVID-19 vaccination^25,26. In SARS-CoV-2 infection, multiple reports of post-infection POTS invoke the possibility of an immune-mediated mechanism triggered by an antigenic component of the spike protein shared with vaccination^13,24,27. Given the broad expression of ACE2 preceptors, inflammasome activation by synthetic spike protein could result in multi-systemic effects, including neurocardiogenic targets and potential induction of variable types of autoimmunity^28,29,30. Additionally, the lipid nanoparticle coating in mRNA vaccine formulations is known to be highly inflammatory, although effects related to the lipid coating appear less likely contributors than spike-protein-mediated effects³¹. Further research is needed to clarify potential mechanisms related to either vaccine formulation or vaccine target."

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome after COVID-19 vaccination
"Ten patients (3.9%) at a quaternary-care POTS clinic reported new or worse POTS symptoms after the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. All patients had pre-existing comorbidities, suggesting a potential group of patients to monitor for post-vaccine POTS. Symptoms responded to guideline-directed POTS therapy."  (Pre-existing conditions included previous COVID-19 infection, Hypermobile EDS, MCAS, and auto-immune cardiac, neurological, and gastrointestinal symptoms)

The Aftermath of COVID 19 Policies and Mandates

Lawsuits regarding the COVID vaccine mandates:

Settlement Reached in Navy COVID Vaccine Lawsuit
A class action lawsuit that included 4,300 Navy seals and sailors who refused to comply with the mandate to get a COVID 19 vaccine for religious reasons was settled, correcting their service records to remove the charge of ignoring a lawful order, and protecting them from discrimination in the future in regards to promotions.  The settlement also includes payment for the cost of legal fees.

Transit Workers Denied Religious Exemptions for COVID-19 Shots Each Awarded $1.3 Million
"Half a dozen transit workers in the California Bay area who were fired for refusing to take COVID-19 shots were awarded approximately $1.3 million dollars each by a federal jury. The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) employees filed a class action suit in October 2022 after they were denied religious exemptions and or accommodations when they requested religious exemption to the COVID shot mandate, which was made a condition for employment.

The jury was presented with the question, “Has BART proven that the plaintiff could not be reasonably accommodated without undue hardship?” The jury resoundingly said no and found that BART failed to demonstrate undue hardship when they refused to provide accommodations to the workers. The jury also found that six of the plaintiffs clearly showed a genuine conflict between the shot and their religious beliefs and awarded $7.8 million in damages to the plaintiffs."

 

The Birthplace of COVID 19

Discussions about one of the most important topics in recent history, the origin of the COVID 19 vaccine, have been censored from the beginning.  This goes against the everything that science is and stands for.  When you see censorship, you know that science had been abandoned and is not present in any form.  Science is a methodology for answering certain kinds of questions, it is a method for finding things out.  There can be no per-conceived ideas of what the answer should or shouldn't be, can or can't be.  Scientific inquiry is always guided by observable evidence, NEVER dogma- no matter what the implications.  Science does not take sides.  It was obvious from the beginning that the question of where COVID 19 came from was not being investigated in a scientific manner, that the process of inquiry was being guided by dogma and personal interests.  

There were obvious signs all along.  One is the term "wet market" itself, which was used to conjure up images of dirty and unsafe handling of food animals, one that played on western racist ideas of Asian people eating "disgusting" and exotic animals.  The name "wet market" is essentially a translation error.  A long time ago, there were food stores that sold only dry goods, and stores that sold fresh food as well, and ended up being called "wet markets" because "wet" is the opposite of "dry".  So a "wet market" is a food market where fresh food such as fruits and vegetables and meats are sold.  Any farmer's market in the US is therefore also a "wet market".

It is of vital importance that we figure out how COVID 19 came to be and how the pandemic happened, both because people need to be held accountable if there was any negligence or wrongdoing, and because we need to do everything we can to minimize the risk of a pandemic such as this happening again.  Understanding the viral origins of the pandemic is essential.   

Origins of COVID-19: An Examination of Available Evidence
Full Committee Hearing  June 18, 2024
Homeland Security, Governmental Affairs
"The COVID 19 pandemic was one of the worst public health crises our country has ever faced.  We lost more than 1 million Americans to the virus."

The following are comments made by Dr John Campbell talking about these hearings.  He points out that the evidence doesn't point towards a natural spillover event to explain the origins of COVID because the virus would have popped up at various places and times, which it didn't; we haven't found an intermediate animal, we haven't found an evolutionary history of the virus, and there are no antibodies to the virus in the natural reservoir.  What the evidence does show us- gain of function research was being done at the Wuhan lab, evidence including e-mails was intentionally destroyed, and open scientific inquiry was not allowed.  This is the video in which Dr Campbell talks about the hearing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEyRQLEmNGk&list=PL00DD377C0ACD51FB&index=8

Testimony of Senator Rand Paul:
Contents of e-mails that have been recently made public by FOIA request include:

"The lab escape version of this is so friggin' likely to have happened because they were already doing this type of work, and the molecular data is fully consistent with that scenario." -Christian Anderson 

"Ian Lipkin stressed the nightmare of circumstantial evidence to assess regarding the possibility of inadvertent release given the scale of bat coronavirus research pursued in Wuhan.  

Bob Gerry said "I really can't think of a plausible natural scenario where you get from the bat virus, or one very similar to it, to COVID 19, where you insert exactly 4 amino acids, 12 nucleotides, and all have to be added at the exact same time to gain this function.  I just can't figure out how this gets accomplished in nature.  It's not crackpot to suggest this could have happened given the gain-of-function research we know was happening at Wuhan."

Ralph Berrick (a world-famous researcher of gain-of-function who collaborated with Dr Shi at the Wuhan lab) said "So they (the Wuhan lab) have a very large collection of viruses in their laboratory and so as you know proximity is a problem, it's a problem." 

"Dr Fauci himself, privately acknowledged concerns about gain-of-function research in Wuhan and mutations in the virus that suggest it might have been engineered, just days before he commissioned the proximal origin paper.  Despite these private doubts, publicly these so-called experts and their allies were dismissing the lab leak theory as a conspiracy.  Within days, Anderson, Lipkin, and Gerry were putting final touches on what would be remembered as one of the most remarkable reversals in modern history.  In their "proximal origin" paper, these scientists concluded "we do not believe that ANY type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible."  Privately they were saying one thing, publicly they were saying another."

Media went along with this and censored discussion of viral origins that didn't support the official story.  Information and evidence was withheld by researchers and people in the federal government from the public and from congress.  One example is Dr David Morenz of NIH deleting emails regarding early discussions and then commenting "I think we're safe now" to Peter Daszac at EcoHealth Alliance.  NIH and HHS have withheld documents regarding gain-of-function research from congress, despite congress passing a law to make the evidence public.  The people involved are saying there wasn't gain-of-function research but won't allow anyone to look at the supposed discussion.  "This has been a deliberate, prolonged effort to deceive the committee about certain gain-of-function research experiments that the agencies have been withholding.

"What we've found as we've gone through this is that at every step there's been resistance, so the hearing today is to try to find out whether or not we can get to the truth.  Do we know for certain it came from the lab?  No, but there's a preponderance of evidence indicating that it may have come from the lab.  Do we know viruses have come from animals in the past?  Yes they've come from animals in the past.  But this time there's no animal reservoir, no animal handlers with antibodies, there are a lot of reasons why...there are indications that this could well have come from the lab".  He goes on to say that there will be scientists from both sides presenting evidence, and there should be a spirited debate.

Near Misses at UNC Chapel Hill’s High-Security Lab Illustrate Risk of Accidents With Coronaviruses
"While no one is suggesting that UNC created the virus that causes COVID-19, alone or with the Wuhan lab, such near misses highlight the potential risks of an infected lab worker exposing the public even in the most secure and respected research facilities as they search for treatments and vaccines.

The university has declined to publicly disclose key details about the incidents, including the names of viruses involved, the nature of the modifications made to them and what risks were posed to the public, contrary to National Institutes of Health guidelines.

Since 2007, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, has repeatedly warned that the proliferation of high-containment biosafety level 3 and level 4 labs in the United States and around the world is increasing the risk of dangerous viruses, bacteria or toxins being intentionally or unintentionally released from the facilities. Over the years, Congress has held multiple hearings examining numerous serious incidents in elite U.S. labs, including mishaps with anthrax, deadly smallpox and Ebola viruses and dangerous strains of avian influenza."

HIGH-CONTAINMENT LABORATORIES
Preliminary Observations on Federal Efforts to Address Weaknesses Exposed by Recent Safety Lapses
Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives

During the years before the pandemic, UNC records show that 8 researchers were exposed to SARS or MERS like coronaviruses and not quarantined, but instead were placed under medical monitoring, which seems to have consisted of reporting symptoms twice a day.   

"In November 2015, UNC scientists published a research paper detailing how they had created a lab-made hybrid coronavirus with the potential to infect people."  UNC has withheld information from the public about the specific viruses involved, which another expert has said is odd given that the research is not classified and will be published in the scientific literature.  "“Making these reports public ensures accountability for the labs and funders and encourages them to learn from mistakes and reduce risk of them occurring,” Koblentz said."
A SARS-like cluster of circulating bat coronaviruses shows potential for human emergence

The article then lists 3 known lab leaks that resulted in viruses getting out and infecting others in the community.  This includes an outbreak of Influenza A and here , a small outbreak of SARS in 2004, and a leak in England in 2007 that affected livestock. 

 

The Global Impact of Pharmaceutical Profiteering and Corruption

The Meriam-Webster dictionary defines profiteering as "the act or activity of making an unreasonable profit on the sale of essential goods especially during times of emergency".  Profiteering by pharmaceutical companies has been an increasing problem worldwide for decades.  The fact that medical care is so often needed during times of crisis and emergency makes profiteering easy and commonplace.  This is also facilitated by changing power dynamics globally, providing more opportunities for pharmaceutical companies to exploit.    

Johnson and Johnson are trying to extend their patent for anti-tuberculosis medications that are needed to save millions of lives, but instead of letting the patent expire so that the drug can be made affordably enough to be available to the rest of the world, they are trying to falsely extend the patent to bolster their own profits.  Learn more about it here.

French company bungled clinical trial that led to a death and illness, report says "Why one man died and four others fell ill during a drug safety study in France last month is still very unclear. But a preliminary inspection report lashes out at Biotrial, the company that conducted the study, for how it responded after the first volunteer in the clinical trial was hospitalized. Three major errors by Biotrial put other volunteers at risk, says the report, published yesterday by France's General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (IGAS). Responding to the report, Touraine said that from now on any hospitalization during a clinical trial should be regarded as "new fact" that needs to be brought to the attention of health authorities immediately. Such events should "lead to an immediate suspension of the trial until the safety of volunteers is guaranteed," she said. "Volunteers must be clearly informed about the suspension of the study and its reasons."

Bill Gates Almost Single-Handedly Derailed the Plan That Could Have Led to a 'People's Vaccine'
"But the inspiring plan devised by the scientists—which promised to create a vaccine essentially belonging to the world's people, not to corporate shareholders—was crushed fairly decisively when Bill Gates ventured into the fray."

 "Among other things, the vaccine tragedy highlights the danger posed by the extreme concentration of wealth and power that Bill Gates represents. It turns out that his mega-philanthropy comes with a hitch: it enables Gates to develop extraordinary influence over crucial matters, such as whether or not the world's poor will have a chance to survive the pandemic."

 

How Bill Gates Impeded Global Access to Covid Vaccines: Through his hallowed foundation, the world’s de facto public health czar has been a stalwart defender of monopoly medicine.

Non-pharmacological options for the Prevention and Treatment of COVID 19

There are quite a few options available to limit the spread of and severity of infection from SARS CoV-2 and other viruses that are safe, easy to get, inexpensive, and many are things a person can do themselves at home.

These include:

Black seed oil blocks the ACE2 receptor, which is one of the ways that SARS CoV 2 enters and infects cells. 

Povidone Iodine is one form of iodine that is readily available and has significant anti-microbial effects, including being anti-viral, and is quite safe.  It can be used as a mouthwash and gargle, a nasal rinse, for swabbing the ears, and for brushing teeth.  The povidone solution should be 0.5% to be effective. 

Saline can be used to rinse out the nasal passages and reduce viral load.  An easy option is to buy a can of saline mist at the drugstore, which can then be sprayed into the nostrils, or use a neti pot for a more thorough cleaning.  

Simple nasal wash can prevent hospitalization and deaths from COVID-19
"The researchers found that only 1.3 per cent of COVID-19 patients who underwent nasal wash required hospitalization, suggesting that they were more than eight times less likely to be hospitalized compared with the 11 per cent in the CDC dataset."
This article references the study:
Rapid initiation of nasal saline irrigation to reduce severity in high-risk COVID+ outpatients

Hydrogen Peroxide
How to Nebulize with (food-grade) Hydrogen Peroxide
mix 2 cups of distilled water with 1 teaspoon of Himalayan salt, 1 drop of iodine,  and 3/4 teaspoon of food grade hydrogen peroxide 12%.  Refrigerate this mixture.  Nebulize this every hour if you are very sick, or less often if you are less sick, such as every 4 to 6 hours.  You can also use this if you think you may have been exposed to COVID 19.  

To gargle with hydrogen peroxide mix one part H2O2 with 4 parts water and swish or gargle it for 30 seconds.

Another source discusses use of nebulizing hydrogen peroxide for general respiratory illnesses and COVID as well.  She prepares the solution to be nebulized by mixing hydrogen peroxide 3% with equal parts saline.  She will nebulize for about 2 minutes if she has been exposed to someone who is sick, or twice per day 4 minutes each time when she herself is sick.  For maintenance she uses it twice a week for about 2 minutes each time.  She points out that some people will have "die off" symptoms if they have other lingering or sub clinical infections in the mouth.  To clean the nebulizer, she rinses with hot water and then wipes out the insides with vinegar.  Lastly she suggests taking a dose (she doesn't say how much) of vitamin C after each time you nebulize.

Cardiopulmonary and hematological effects of infrared LED photobiomodulation in the treatment of SARS-COV2
"Post-treatment, the LED group showed a reduction in hospital discharge time and a statistically significant improvement for the following cardiopulmonary functions: Partial Oxygen Saturation, Tidal Volume, Maximum Inspiratory, and Expiratory Pressures, Respiratory Frequency, Heart Rate, and Systolic Blood Pressure (p < 0.05). Regarding blood count, it was observed that post-treatment, the LED group presented with significant differences in the count of leukocytes, neutrophils, and lymphocytes."
This is a MedCram lecture about this study

Supplements and Off-Label Medications:
Potential association of mast cells with coronavirus disease 2019
"Liposomal luteolin could be supplemented with the H₁ receptor antagonist rupatadine (not available in the United States except if compounded), which has anti–platelet-activating factor and mast cell–inhibitory actions, and the H₂ receptor antagonist, famotidine, which has been reported to be beneficial in COVID-19. In addition, supplementation with vitamin D3 could be useful, because it can reduce allergic inflammation and has been reported to be of benefit in COVID-19."

Scutellaria baicalensis extract and baicalein inhibit replication of SARS-CoV-2 and its 3C-like protease in vitro (Chinese skullcap)
"We studied the anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of S. baicalensis and its ingredients. We found that the ethanol extract of S. baicalensis and its major component, baicalein, inhibit SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro activity in vitro with IC50's of 8.52 µg/ml and 0.39 µM, respectively. Both of them inhibit the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in Vero cells with EC50's of 0.74 µg/ml and 2.9 µM, respectively. While baicalein is mainly active at the viral post-entry stage, the ethanol extract also inhibits viral entry. We further identified four baicalein analogues from other herbs that inhibit SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro activity at µM concentration. All the active compounds and the S. baicalensis extract also inhibit the SARS-CoV 3CLpro, demonstrating their potential as broad-spectrum anti-coronavirus drugs."

Zinc Ionophore Activity of Quercetin and Epigallocatechin-gallate: From Hepa 1-6 Cells to a Liposome Model
Zinc is an important mineral in facilitating our immune system's response to viral infections, and low zinc levels have been found to be a significant risk factor for catching COVID 19 and for this infection to be serious.  A zinc ionophore is something that transports zinc into the cell where it is needed to fight viruses.

I got my Taste and Smell back a year after having Covid!!! Here’s what I did.

Best Diet & Fast for COVID - NEW SCIENCE
The presenter fasted all day than had a large, vegetable-heavy dinner of salad and other vegetables.  She got through COVID in 5 days.  She also notes that fear and anger reduce our immune response and therefore can make us more susceptible to becoming sick.  She discusses several studies that provide evidence supporting the effectiveness of diet and fasting on COVID outcomes.

Diet Quality and Risk Severity of COVID 19: s prospective cohort study
This is a study that was published in the journal Gut in September of 2021 that followed over 500,000 people for a period of time, in which around 31,000 people got COVID.  Those who followed the diet, which included a high amount of plant-based foods, had a 50% lower risk of getting COVID. 

Diet may affect risk and severity of COVID-19
This is an article discussing the study linked to above discussed in more accessible layman's terms. 

Autophagy from intermittent fasting also aids the immune system in fighting off COVID 19 by stimulating immune function in many ways.  (quoted from the study below) "In autophagy, autophagosomes, a double membrane vesicles, engulf and fuse cytoplasmic elements that degraded and recycled the cargo to produce sugars, nucleosides/nucleotides, amino acids, and fatty acids. These vital components can be channeled to the other metabolic pathways for cellular utilization."

"In addition, autophagy is associated with various pathophysiological processes, such as cell survival, cell death, aging, and immunity. Autophagy is involved in the antigenic presentation of pathogen (for example, virus) components to the immune system. Autophagy modulates the constituents of immune system, including T and B lymphocytes, dendritic cells, macrophages, and natural killer (NK) cells. In innate as well as adaptive immune reactions, autophagy stimulates to maintain survival, homeostasis, proliferation, activation, as well as differentiation. Besides, autophagy also encourages immune-mediated cells to release antibodies and cytokines. During innate immunity, autophagy acts as a pattern of downstream receptors recognition through stimulation of the receptors of innate immunity containing nod-like receptors and toll-like receptors (TLR7), which triggers effector responses such as cytokine production, activation of NK T cell, and phagocytosis"

Intermittent fasting, a possible priming tool for host defense against SARS-CoV-2 infection: Crosstalk among calorie restriction, autophagy and immune response
"As a healthy practice, calorie restriction in the form of intermittent fasting (IF) in several clinical settings has been reported to promote several health benefits, including priming of the immune response. This dietary restriction also activates autophagy, a cell surveillance system that boosts up immunity."

Study explores therapeutic potential of exploiting autophagy cascade against COVID-19

How Long Do You Need to Fast for Autophagy?

General Immune Support

 A Doctor Explains How to Make the Safest Face Mask