Dr. Doreo's Health Meditations

Certain features have been elucidated about the tendencies of human infection of the COVID-19 virus. The most recent paper published in The Journal of Medical Virology early in 2020 states: "These findings suggested that the initiation of the immune response result in the production of chemokines and cytokines, which damage normal host lung." 1 Chemokines and Cytokines are the chemicals the body uses to fight infection, with the purpose of creating a healing for the host-human. When the person has a pre-existing high level of these inflammatory chemicals or has a harder time dampening a hyper-vigilant immune response (as in autoimmunity), an infection can hit much harder than for those with normal inflammatory responses. This explains why COVID-19 is worse for people with underlying conditions that often are paired with older age: diabetes, heart disease, and autoimmune conditions. Determining the level of inflammationfrom a blood sample might help understand where the in...

You may not be familiar with the term "biofilm," but you have certainly encountered biofilm on a regular basis. The plaque that forms on your teeth and causes tooth decay is one type of bacterial biofilm. The "gunk" that clogs your drains is also biofilm. If you have ever walked in a stream or river, you have probably slipped on biofilm-coated rocks. They’re found in natural environments such as hot springs, rivers and streams, lakes, and tide pools, to man-made and industrial environments such as water and drainage pipes, sanitation systems, house-hold sinks, toilets, and showers, and even in the water tanks of nuclear power plants. Biofilms avidly colonize many household surfaces, including toilets, sinks, countertops, and cutting boards in the kitchen and bath. Poor disinfection practices and ineffective cleaning products may increase the incidence of illnesses associated with pathogenic organisms in the household environment. Biofilms f...