On the Road to Dementia: Inflammation, Prions, Myositis and Fibromyalgia

reply to post by athousandlives


Ah. That explains it. ...Evidence suggests the "active" ingredient(s) do not tell the whole story - and that often the so-called inactive ones are needed to help the active one confer the full benefit - the main reason I do not take 'purified' or concentrated supplements. I like whole foods (and herbs and spices). Eg., not so long ago 'food science' focused on vitamins and minerals, said polyphenols weren't useful - now, they're essential.

reply to post by soficrow


You sound just like my doctor. She is always telling me that while it is nice to take vitamins that they are no substitute for good foods. Your body absorbs the vitamins that are in the foods better than a pill, and help you to feel better as a result.

Also if you are craving oranges or other foods, it is usually your body's way of telling you that you are deficient in something that food has.

reply to post by OpinionatedB


Yes. Exactly. Worth repeating:

...it is nice to take vitamins (but) they are no substitute for good foods. Your body absorbs the vitamins that are in the foods better than a pill, and help you to feel better as a result.

Also if you are craving oranges or other foods, it is usually your body's way of telling you that you are deficient in something that food has.

reply to post by OpinionatedB


Some sources say most prion related diseases come from ingestion (eating something contaminated with prions). I happen to think vaccines are big 'source' too. But whatever. The point is that prions have to get from where they enter to the brain. New research is discovering the various pathways - most of which seem to involve the immune system as a "transportation device." ...Disease manifestations (and variability) seem to have as much to do with the point of entry as the strain, although prions are known to create new strains on exposure to new cells.

New Prion Disease Found: Causes Diarrhea and Neuropathy

Prion-Like Proteins Drive Several Diseases of Aging

Officially recognized infectious prion strains are found in the brain, spinal cord, immune system, nervous systems, muscle, and various organs and glands including the spleen, liver, pancreas, and kidneys. Contrary to popular medical myth, their presence in these diverse locations does have an effect on health and well-being.

The existence of so many different prion strains blocked general acceptance of the prion hypothesis for a time. Old-school scientists argued that because proteins don't have genetic material, prions can't evolve and create new strains. The mystery of prion strains was solved when researchers proved that prions create new strains by shape-shifting - they literally just fold into a slightly different shape to create a new strain - and cause a new disease or modify an existing one.

In fact, even a change in temperature can cause an existent prion to shape-shift, misfold in a different way, create a new infectious prion strain - and cause a different disease.

"Prion shape affects nature of infection"

“UCSF scientists have demonstrated for the first time that a change in the folded shape of a prion protein changes its infectious properties – including the prion’s ability to jump 'species barriers.' The research, based on studies of prion infectivity in yeast, solves one of the great puzzles about prions: If they are infectious proteins with no genetic material of their own and no ability to mutate genetically, how can a single prion exist in different strains that can cause different diseases?

…Studies of the melting temperatures of the prions and their resistance to breakdown by enzymes indicated that the conditions generated prions with different physical properties.

...shape change accounts for strain differences, and it lays the groundwork for research to determine the physical differences that allow a prion to change shape and cause different diseases. ...The studies show that a single infectious protein can adopt different, distinct, self-propagating shapes and that these conformational differences underlie the differences in prion strains.

Prions do get around - in the world and in our bodies. Prions hitchhike on viruses, and use the immune system to spread in the body. Consequently, flu pandemics threaten the long term health of survivors. Focusing exclusively on the fatality rate is a HUGE mistake.

* A pandemic is looming, and the fatality rate is expected to be very high; however,
* The burden of chronic disease in survivors will be FAR worse, and cases with long term neurological complications including dementia can be expected;
* Current costs of the chronic disease pandemic are already bankrupting many nations; and
* Active and passive euthanasia is considered a legitimate counteraction and policies already are being implemented in some countries.

Chronic disease to cost $47 trillion by 2030: WEF

…Mental health (including the dementias), which is typically left off lists of leading NCDs, will account for $16 trillion -- a third of the overall $47 trillion anticipated costs.

HINT: The WEF is NOT looking for cash to cover these mega-trillion dollar shortfalls and care for survivors.

reply to post by soficrow


Very good thread OP. I had learned about prions a while back, and kind of forgot about them. I am a huge proponent of anti-inflammatory lifestyle. Chronic low grade inflammation is very real (for the onlookers), and is the root of almost all the disease that we deal with in our western culture.

reply to post by zardust


Thanks - and yes, inflammation is the key to most "modern" diseases. I've just been going back over the links between prions, and the immune system and autoimmunity. 'Tis a tangled web. From a 2007 research article:

...individuals incubating prion disease may be highly susceptible to CNS inflammation. ...During the years or decades of prion disease incubation, especially with low or subclinical prion titers, at-risk individuals are certain to encounter diverse pathological insults, such as viral and bacterial infections, autoimmune disease, or neoplastic processes, all of which may have an inflammatory component. These individuals may develop severe neurological diseases not immediately associated with prion infections due to the dissociation of the putative clinical findings from the accumulation of PrPSc. If so, then the effects of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy epidemic on the population should be looked upon differently.

RE:

Chronic low grade inflammation is very real (for the onlookers), and is the root of almost all the disease that we deal with in our western culture.

Unfortunately, our "modern" diseases have spread round the world - there is now a global chronic disease pandemic, called the "NCD Pandemic." Start here for a quick overview:

* Sick People, Not Corporate Greed, Causing Financial Crisis?
* AIDS, Alzheimer's, Cancer - and Mad Cow Prions. What's the Story?

reply to post by soficrow


Oh for sure they've spread as we've brought our "advancements" in medicine and food production to the world. Thank goodness for advances in acute care and life stabilizing measures. But the poison that is spread by globalization is devastating to the biomes of the people we are "helping".

reply to post by zardust

Thank goodness for advances in acute care and life stabilizing measures.

lol. On the more positive side, check this out: Prion-Like Protein Controls Long-term Memories

reply to post by rickymouse


Have you ever heard of the ethnic diet?

it is where you should only eat what your ancestory/race would of eaten. If you are Chinese, you only eat foods from the asia region, if you are Italian, you only eat Mediterranean foods.
That part of our health issues and obesity epidemic is because we are eating foods that are not genetically compatible. IN other words, a native American shouldn't eat bananas or mangos, as they wouldnt' of had access to them.

nixie_nox
reply to post by rickymouse

 

Have you ever heard of the ethnic diet?

it is where you should only eat what your ancestory/race would of eaten. If you are Chinese, you only eat foods from the asia region, if you are Italian, you only eat Mediterranean foods.
That part of our health issues and obesity epidemic is because we are eating foods that are not genetically compatible. IN other words, a native American shouldn't eat bananas or mangos, as they wouldnt' of had access to them.

Yup, that is what I am finding works best for me. My mother was always trying to look for better foods...better recipes...outside of our ancestral eating habits. Her health was never good. My sister was plagued with autoimmune issues because she ate too much breads and also drank milk because it "is good for you". I do fine eating traditional foods. Meat, potatoes, and boiled veggies. I can eat raw fruit great but drinking juices causes a spike in insulin which leads to hypoglycemic problems. My sugar bottoms out one and a half to two hours after drinking a glass of juice or a soft drink. I used to think the spins at night after going out drinking came from the alcohol, it was not the alcohol really, it was the insulin my body created to combat the alcohol sugars and starches. Strange how when you actually pay attention and relate it to past events in your life, you find out what is happening...thanks to the recent release of government paid research that has happened since Obama required these documents to be open to the public.

The funny thing is, what we think of as Italian food is not what the old Italians eat. It is a new version of it. I am a Finn. I have old Italian friends, they do not eat the Pasta dishes the way we eat it. Their meals are different than they are nowadays. We even messed up these dishes, go to an old Italian restaurant and see how they serve the traditional meal.