The
cytokine storm I posted about several threads ago. It was a major factor in the 1918 pandemic. IIRC, the 'Spanish Flu' was called that because US newspapers were not allowed to comment on the flu due to WWI. Unpatriotic. But they could report on flu in Spain, ie; Spanish Flu.
Into the Eye of the Cytokine Storm
I also read a few articles explaining this, the immune system, what happens when massive inflammation proteins are produced, are defective when fighting an infection, virus. Trying to comprehend this info. The Cytokine Storm
Our immune system fights off infections, cancer in our body, injuries. One of the mediators of inflammation in the body are proteins called cytokine. Cytokines are proteins that are produced by our cells, they interact with the cells of our immune system, are mediators of inflammation proteins. Inflammation is the body's way of dealing with infection and injury.
A life threatening infection can often result in a massive immune response.
"The immune system goes into overdrive, churning out inflammatory mediators called cytokines at a very high rate, that then trigger even more cytokine production. This spiral, called a cytokine storm, can directly damage organs and cause such severe whole body inflammation that vital organs like the lungs, heart, and kidneys begin to fail.”
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Severe inflammation in the lungs causes the blood vessels in the lungs to become leaky, resulting in inflammatory cells, fluid, and chemicals to fill the air sacs of the lung, essentially drowning a patient from the inside out, Physicians dealing with COVID-19 pneumonia call it the worst viral pneumonia they have ever seen, resulting in the need for weeks of mechanical ventilation while the lungs try to recover.
I read an article with Dr. Randy Con M.D., Ph.D., who is an expert in a dangerous immune reaction to some infections, called cytokine storm syndrome.
“Cytokines are inflammatory immunologic proteins that are there to fight off infections and ward off cancers,” said Cron, a University of Alabana at Birminham professor of pediatrics and medicine.
“But when they are out of control, they can make you very ill.”
A cytokine storm is the result of an immune system gone wild. The body’s own killer immune cells are often defective, resulting in increased production of inflammatory proteins that can lead to organ failure and death.
Dr. Cron explains how cytokine storm syndrome may be at work in the current COVID-19 pandemic and how it can be detected and possibly treated.
"From reading the literature primarily out of China, many of the severely ill coronavirus-infected patients appear to have clinical and laboratory features of a cytokine storm syndrome, or CSS, which is frequently fatal.
An elevated serum ferritin test — which is cheap, readily available and quick — is a good first step for screening for CSS. There are a variety of other tests that can then help confirm or deny the presence of a cytokine storm syndrome. "
COVID-19: Do not forget the host in treating this disease - News
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