Monday, August 27, 2012

The Vitamin C Treatment of Whooping Cough (Pertussis)

The Vitamin C Treatment of Whooping Cough (Pertussis)
http://www.vaccinationcouncil.org/2011/12/20/special-report-the-vitamin-c-treatment-of-whooping-cough-suzanne-humphries-md/

by Suzanne Humphries, MD www.DrSuzanne.net

This is important. If you think that a vaccinated person cannot get whooping cough, in the most severe manner, think again. Most babies over the age of 6 months who get whooping cough are fully and “appropriately” vaccinated. Pertussis is admittedly, even by the vaccine enthusiasts, primarily spread by vaccinated children, adolescents and adults, who have inadequate immunity. Regardless, they will still say the problem is not with the vaccine, but rather with too few doses of vaccine. However, conventional medicine’s own scientific studies demonstrate that bacterial clearance and immune response is not as efficient in the vaccinated, in particular with the acellular pertussis vaccine. When pertussis is left to take its normal course in the community, the supposedly vulnerable infants that the vaccinationists scream and yell about, are protected by maternal antibodies and mother’s milk until they are old enough to process the disease on their own. After vaccines were introduced, this protection was vastly reduced, because the mothers were only having vaccine antibodies to pass along to their infants, and that defense is neither effective nor long-lasting. A recent study confirms that natural immunity to whooping cough lasts up to 30 years, whereas the immunity from a vaccine lasts 3 years, and after adult boosters, all antibodies have disappeared within a year. The risk of vaccination with unpredictable waning “immunity,” and vaccine failure, is not as reliable as what nature has set forth, and it never will be.

Download PDF of “The Vitamin C Treatment of Whooping Cough” http://www.vaccinationcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/final-vit-C-and-WC.pdf

Monday, August 13, 2012

Amyloid precursor protein fragment may be a biomarker for autism

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20120104/Amyloid-precursor-protein-fragment-may-be-a-biomarker-for-autism.aspx

Amyloid precursor protein fragment may be a biomarker for autism

Published on January 4, 2012 at 7:19 AM

University of South Florida researchers made the discoveries using mouse models of autism

Immune system abnormalities that mimic those seen with autism spectrum disorders have been linked to the amyloid precursor protein (APP), reports a research team from the University of South Florida's Department of Psychiatry and the Silver Child Development Center.

The study, conducted with mouse models of autism, suggests that elevated levels of an APP fragment circulating in the blood could explain the aberrations in immune cell populations and function - both observed in some autism patients. The findings were recently published online in the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

The USF researchers concluded that the protein fragment might be both a biomarker for autism and a new research target for understanding the physiology of the disorder.

"Autism affects one in 110 children in the United States today," said research team leader Jun Tan, MD, PhD, professor of psychiatry and the Robert A. Silver Chair, Rashid Laboratory for Developmental Neurobiology at USF's Silver Child Development Center. "While there are reports of abnormal T-cell numbers and function in some persons affected with autism, no specific cause has been identified. The disorder is diagnosed by behavioral observation and to date no associated biomarkers have been identified."

"Not only are there no associated biomarkers, but the prognosis for autism is poor and the costs associated with care are climbing," said Francisco Fernandez, MD, department chair and head of the Silver Center. "The work of Dr. Tan and his team is a start that may lead to earlier diagnosis and more effective treatments."

The amyloid precursor protein is typically the focus of research related to Alzheimer's disease. However, recent scientific reports have identified elevated levels of the particular protein fragment, called, sAPP-α, in the blood of autistic children. The fragment is a well-known growth factor for nerves, and studies imply that it plays a role in T-cell immune responses as well.

To study the autism-related effects of this protein fragment on postnatal neurodevelopment and behavior, Dr. Tan and his team inserted the human DNA sequence coding for the sAPP-α fragment into the genome of a mouse model for autism. While the studies are ongoing, the researchers documented the protein fragment's effects on the immune system of the test mice.

"We used molecular biology and immunohistochemistry techniques to characterize T-cell development in the thymus and also function in the spleen of the test animals," Dr. Tan said. "Then we compared transgenic mice to their wild-type littermates."

The researchers found that increased levels of sAPP-α in the transgenic mice led to increased cytotoxic T-cell numbers. The investigators also discovered subsequent impairment in the recall function of memory T-cells in the test mice, suggesting that the adaptive immune response is negatively affected in the presence of high levels of the protein fragment.

"Our work suggests that the negative effects of elevated sAPP-α on the adaptive immune system is a novel mechanism underlying certain forms of autism," concluded Dr. Tan, who holds the Silver Chair in Developmental Neurobiology. "The findings also add support to the role of sAPP-α in the T-cell response."

Source: University of South Florida (USF Health)