Study links low vitamin D with a high COVID-19 death rate

In a growing list of studies on vitamin D and its link with COVID-19 disease, British researchers have found an association between low average levels of vitamin D and high numbers of COVID-19 cases and mortality rates across 20 European countries.

Previous observational studies have reported an association between low levels of vitamin D and susceptibility to acute respiratory tract infections.

We found a significant crude relationship between average vitamin D levels and the number COVID-19 cases and particularly COVID-19 mortality rates, per head of population across the 20 European countries, said the study researcher, Dr. Lee Smith from UK.

According to the researchers, vitamin D modulates the response of white blood cells, preventing them from releasing too many  inflammatory cytokines. The COVID-19 virus is known to cause an excess of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Italy and Spain have both experienced high COVID-19 mortality rates, and the new study published  shows that both countries have lower average vitamin D levels than most northern European countries.

This is partly because people in southern Europe, particularly the elderly, avoid the strong sun, while skin pigmentation also reduces natural vitamin D synthesis.

The highest average levels of vitamin D are found in northern Europe, due to the consumption of cod liver oil and vitamin D supplements, and possibly less sun avoidance.

Scandinavian nations are among the countries with the lowest number of COVID-19 cases and mortality rates per head of population in Europe.

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Men with COVID-19 in B.C. about twice as likely to end up in hospital as women, says Henry

B.C.'s provincial health officer says men with COVID-19 are more likely to end up in hospital than women with the virus, though the reason remains unclear.

The province has released the data showing the age range and sex of patients with COVID-19, but not the severity of each case.

The results align with the rest of the country and the world when it comes to men experiencing more severe cases of the disease, Dr. Bonnie Henry said at her daily media briefing on Thursday.

"Two thirds of people who've been admitted to hospital are male. So that is over-representation of men, compared to women — given our cases were less than half," said Henry, adding that women make up about 53 per cent of infections in the province.

Men with COVID-19 are twice as likely to wind up in hospital than women with the virus. In intensive care units, men make up between 60 and 70 per cent of cases, she said.

Only speculation as to why men fare worse

"But the whole question of why men are more likely to be — to have more serious illness than women, is one that is being asked around the world," she said. "Some people's theories are that our immune systems are different, men and women."

Henry said it remains speculation, but it has been suggested that the way women have adapted to give birth to children — to have pregnancies that aren't rejected by their immune systems — could be a factor.

"And men on the other hand are more likely to have more of the proteins, the cytokines, that cause our immune system to get excited and to attack viruses that invade our system," she said.

Henry said other factors leading to the difference could be underlying health issues, like heart disease and diabetes, or even genetic factors.

"We just don't know yet," she said. 

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Bengaluru oncologist claims to be close to an effective treatment for Covid-19: Report

A Bengaluru based doctor claims to have developed an effective treatment for coronavirus which could be ready for trials by this weekend, a news agency reported.

The treatment involves re-triggering of the immune system which gets compromised after a person is infected by Sars-Cov-2 virus, said the doctor. He clarified that the medicine which was under preparation was “not a vaccine”.

“We have built a concoction of cytokines which can be injected to reactivate immune system in Covid-19 patients. We’re in a very initial stage & hope to be ready with its first set by this weekend,” ANI quoted oncologist Vishal Rao as saying.

Rao added that an application had been made to the government for an expedited review of the possible treatment.

The development comes on a day when the health ministry announced participation in a WHO-led trial of a medicine along with other steps to deal with the health emergency on a war footing. 

The Bengaluru Cancer specialist said human body cells release interferon chemical to kill viruses which can’t be released when someone is infected with Sars-Cov-2 which weakens the immune system. He added that that interferon was also effective against coronavirus.

“We got hold of some preprint suggesting that interferon is effective in Covid-19,” Rao was quoted as saying.

He further described how the medicine containing interferon could be prepared for treating the infected.

“When we withdraw blood for regular check-ups, we get buffy coat which can be used to take out cells and form interferon. These two chemicals and some other cytokines, in a specific concoction, could be potentially very useful in treating Covid-19 patients,” Rao told ANI.

According to a research, published in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, several approaches to treat Covid-19 were being developed, including blocking the virus from entering human cells, disrupting its replication, suppressing the human immune response and vaccines, said another agency report.

The study says Sars-Cov-2 is easily transmissible due to the spike proteins on its surface which bind efficiently to the molecule “angiotensin-converting enzyme 2” (ACE2) on the surfaces of human cells.

As of now, the researchers say, the most promising antiviral for fighting Sars-Cov-2 is Remdesivir, which blocks its replication as seen in laboratories. However, they said more data on its effectiveness is needed.

The scientists also noted that Tilarone, an antiviral, may also be effective against Sar-Cov-2. This medicine is used in some Russian Federation countries against multiple viruses, including acute respiratory viral infection, influenza, and hepatitis, it added.

Several countries are conducting researches to develop an effective vaccine and treatment for coronavirus disease at the moment.

The Union health ministry on Friday said the government was procuring ventilators in huge numbers to prepare for a rapid escalation in the number of positive cases requiring treatment.

“We have given an order to a PSU to provide 10,000 ventilators. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has also been requested to purchase 30,000 additional ventilators in the next 1-2 months,” Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary of the Union health ministry said. 

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Chromosome Length May Indicate Development of Respiratory Infection

The rate of experimentally induced upper respiratory infection increased in healthy adults with shorter telomere length (a structure at the end of a chromosome) in specific leukocytes, according to research in JAMA. The results were identified in comparison to participants with longer telomeres.

Telomeres, DNA-protein complexes at the end regions of chromosomes, decrease in length with every cell division.

“Telomere shortening in leukocytes (white blood cells) has implications for immunocompetence and is associated with increased synthesis of proinflammatory cytokines and poorer antibody response to vaccines,” according to background information accompanying the article. “Shorter leukocyte telomere length also is associated with aging-related morbidity and mortality from conditions with immune system involvement, including infectious diseases, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.”

Investigators assessed telomere length in 152 healthy adults, then quarantined participants to administer nasal drops containing a common cold virus; participants were then monitored for 5 days for development of infection and clinical illness.

Among all patients, 69% developed respiratory infections and 22% developed a cold. An association was seen between those with shorter telomere lengths in all 4 cell types and increased odds of infection following exposure to the virus.

Those with the shortest CD8CD28 telomere length had a rate of infection of 77%, compared to 50% for those in the group with the longest telomeres. Among participants with the shortest telomeres, 26% became clinically ill. The rate for clinical illness was 13% for those in the group with the longest telomeres.

“In this study of healthy young and midlife adults, shorter CD8CD28 cell telomere length was associated with upper respiratory tract infection and clinical illness following experimental exposure to rhinovirus,” the authors concluded. “Because these data are preliminary, their clinical implications are unknown.”

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Vitamin D protects against colds and flu study confirms

Japanese doctors claim that the risk of flu in children can be lowered by 50 % if they take vitamin F supplements on a regular basis. Under normal condition, our bodies can naturally produce vitamin D through our exposure to direct sunlight. Vitamin D can be more powerful than anti-viral medicines or vaccines , a research has shown.

The Power of Vitamin D
In a clinical trial, only one in 10 children between the ages of 6-15 who took vitamin D caught the flu whereas the number of those in the placebo group was one in 5. The head of the trial, explains that vitamin D was found to be more powerful in averting the flu than vaccines were.

Additionally, vitamin D was also more beneficial when the comparison did not include children who were already given external vitamin D  by their parents, outside of the trial. Vitamin D was able to lower the chance for flu to a 3rd to what it would otherwise be.

This being said, it may not come as very shocking news to learn that a lot of Canadian and American physicians have been prescribing up to 50,000 IU of vitamin D on the daily as a therapy for numerous chronic illnesses.

Namely, lack of vitamin D is not uncommon during the winter period, especially in countries far north from the equator. And, vitamin D, also plays a role of an immune system modulator and averts excessive production of inflammatory cytokines and elevates the macrophage activity.

What's more, vitamin D encourages the production of powerful anti-microbial peptides in cells which are lining the respiratory tract and thus, keep the lungs safe from infections.
Flu reduction in children thanks to Vitamin D

The trial had 354 children participants and vitamin D kept them safe from influenza A, but not from the influenza B. This trial was randomized, double-blind and led by doctors and scientists from Japan.

During the research, the children took 1200 IU of vitamin D on a daily basis for 3 months. In the 1st month, the children from the group who took vitamin D became sick as often as those from the placebo group. But, things changed during the 2nd month when the level of vitamin D was much higher.

Though anti-virals are usually more beneficial than vaccines in the treatment of influenza, they are too expensive and also contains toxins. Therefore, vitamin D may be a much better solution. 
Namely, this vitamin D doesn't just avert bone fractures, but it also lowers the chance for heart illness, cancer, diabetes and viral and bacterial infections.

How Vitamin D3 strengthens the immunity\Although called a vitamin, this is actually a steroid hormone precursor which has a significant impact on the immune system.

Adults need around 5000 IU of vitamin D per day.

The healthy level of vitamin D in the blood is between 70-90 ng/ml.

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source- Science daily, Harvard

Sleep deprivation can be harmful for your health

Missing sleep even for a day can make you cranky, tired and vulnerable. It is recommended that you should at least rest for 7 to 9 hours in one day. Sleep deprivation has both short term and long-term effects on the body. Working night shifts at office, attending to a new born baby or an unhealthy lifestyle can make you compromise on your sleep and push your body to its limits. During sleep the body not only rests but also heals itself and restores its balance that was disturbed during daily activities. Without balance, the body will fail to perform its basic functions. Here are some side-effects of sleep deprivation on your body.

Affects the central nervous system: Our body works on signals and messages. The central nervous system makes sure that those messages reach their desired destination. Chronic insomnia can affect this system. The brain becomes too tired to send out any messages and you feel tired and sleepy. You can also hallucinate and develop manic symptoms.

 Affects the immune system: When you sleep, the body releases cytokines into the system. They fight infections and infection-causing pathogens. If you don’t sleep, you are increasing the risk of catching an infection. If you are already infected and don’t sleep, then your recovery will be slow.

Affects the respiratory system: If you are awake, you will keep changing your breathing pattern, making it tough for the lungs to rest. Weak lungs will not process the dust properly and you can catch a common cold or flu.

Causes obesity: If you are awake, you will feel hungry, and you will eat. This will increase your calorie intake and cause obesity. Sleep deprivation also tires the digestive system, slowing down metabolism. This will also make you gain weight.

Can cause heart attacks: Chronic insomnia makes the heart work longer and doesn’t give it time to heal. It can cause an increase in blood sugar, blood pressure and inflammation levels. According to a study, chronic insomnia has links to heart attack and stroke.

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