The Cytokine Storm- How Bird Flu May Over-Stimulate Your Immune System

Surprisingly, young healthy people with strong immune systems seem to be dying of the H5N1 avian flu virus- even more than children and the elderly, who die most frequently in normal influenza epidemics.

Health care experts say many of these patients appear to be suffering from a lethal "cytokine storm"?

What Is A Cytokine Storm?

A cytokine storm is an extreme immune system over-reaction in which cytokines, which are molecules that destroy viruses in the lungs, bring on a ferocious attack by various immune system cells on the lung tissue itself. The result is massive tissue death, making it very difficult to get enough oxygen into the blood steam. Patients usually die from heart failure as the heart becomes exhausted (from trying to pump enough blood to weakened lungs), from respiratory failure, or from massive hemorrhaging, in which the patient drowns in their own blood.

The problem is that the H5N1 virus appears to cause these “cytokine storms” in the young and the healthy. Very young children and older patients usually have weakened immune systems; they rarely get this extreme immune reaction.

This is the same lethal pattern that marked the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, which killed 40 to 100 million people, and seen more recently with SARS.

The Cytokine Controversy

Some researchers think that patients who contract bird flu may need drugs that suppress the immune response in addition to anti-viral drugs like Tamiflu. Doctors sometimes give corticosteroids in these situations to suppress the immune system.

Many health professionals are dubious about the idea of trying to suppress cytokines production with drugs, as the researchers have suggested. First of all, the idea of suppressing the immune system when faced with a dangerous infection, seems counter-intuitive. Secondly, using corticosteroids to suppress the immune system is pretty much the same as using stress hormones like cortisol that have damages the immune systems of large portions of the population. The idea of stressing out your capacity for immune response is hardly appealing.

Clearly more research is needed.  My personal opinion is that that issue is at the crux of how well we manage to survive the pandemic when it happens. I will follow developments on this blog and at the Beat-Bird-Flu.com main pages. In the meantime, I have some tentative personal (and non-professional) recommendations:

 

Tentative recommendations about immune enhancers and cytokines: Please remember that I am not a doctor or licensed health professional.  I am a health and technical writer. I am merely trying to discover what will actually work so that I can help myself and my family. I believe that any concerned person should engage in a thorough program of diet, exercise and immune enhancement to build up the immune response in the eventuality of a pandemic. The problem is that, when facing H5N1,  some immune enhancers, with first-rate scientific studies supporting their efficacy, may be dangerous to some people that have already healthy immune systems. To deal with a possible cytokine storms, while continuing to build up your immune system, you first need to know if your immune system is compromised.  Please read Is Your Immune System Ready? Also, The Cytokine Strom The first article will help you evaluate if your immune system is healthy. The second article will help you understand the problem with cytokines. If you believe your immune system is healthy, then avoid any immune enhancer that stimulates cytokine production. For instance, some natural remedies such as elderberries (Stambucol) have been proven to successfully shorten the influenza cycle by stimulating the growth of cytokines. Stambucol appears to be a great help with ordinary flu. But in the case of the H5N1 virus, that kind of help may prove fatal. Another great example is ImmPower AHCC.  I love this product because there is so much solid scientific evidence behind it. However, along with the great job it does at promoting immune system health, it helps with cytokine production. Therefore I would never suggest it to a healthy young adult.  There are many possible mitigating factors. For instance, commonly used statins, used to lower cholesterol, appear to lower immune response. So a person taking statin might want an immune enhancer that he or she otherwise may not need. However, the idea of facing a virulent flu by deliberately taking a drug that suppresses the immune response is frightening to many people. Here's the real problem: We simply don't know enough yet. We don't even know if the mutation of H5N1 into a human transmissible virus will include the likelihood of cytokine storms, though it seems likely. We won't know until we get there. I will follow research developments on this blog and at the Beat-Bird-Flu.com main pages. Stay tuned.

 

 

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