I develop fixations in my studies. I develop fixations on elements that present promise in connecting dots. It's all one big puzzle, and my goal is to make the pieces fit. I can't do it without developing these fixations.
#SARSCoV2 inhibits Type-1 interferon (IFN). This is its evolutionary advantage over its predecessor SARSCoV, & likely the reason behind the asymptomatic phenomenon, since IFN ➡️ immune activation, inflammation, fever ➡️ symptoms.
We also know that IFN is critical in facilitating a switch from innate immunity (nonspecific defenses like neutrophil NETosis & platelet-induced coagulation) to adaptive immunity (highly specific defenses involving T/B cells & antibody production).
If Type-1 IFN is inhibited, how much does that inhibit, or delay, adaptive immunity (T cell, B cell activation, antibodies)? How much does that then skew the share of the battle back onto primitive defenses like innate immunity + complement (➡️⬆️ immunothrombosis/microclotting)?
The over-reliance on immunothrombosis/microclotting during an acute #COVID19 infection is evident and well-documented.
This likely explains why #SARSCoV2 induces 9x more microclots than #influenza.
The outcome of pervasive microclotting, visualized;
Microvascular thrombosis in 85% of patients with severe #COVID19, w/ 31% exhibiting completely stagnated capillaries. Small sample size in this study of sublingual tissue.
Pervasive microclotting has consequences for organs across the body because it disrupts blood-flow dynamics, and thereby risks oxygen-deprivation-related damage.
The consequences therein on the brain intrigue me most of all.
"Physicians like disease & injury to be visible, if they are going to accept it as real."
I'm going to start w/ a focus on #MECFS, and then round out this tweet-thread w/ a segway onto why all this matters for #longcovid, too. This chronology is poetically fitting, at any rate.
We know by now that #MECFS brains are generally replete w/ neuroinflammation. PET & MRSt scans demonstrate this readily and consistently.
We know by now that metabolites, like lactate, choline-containing compounds, myo-inositol, & N-acetylaspartate, are considerably altered in #MECFS brains, and this is readily demonstrated via MRS scanning.
The immune-response and #COVID19. The "Wack-a-Mole" theory.
This is going to be heavy, and technical at points. But it's important that I regurgitate my thoughts. This is my Eureka moment. #SARS_CoV_2
#COVID degrades the epithelial cells of the lungs, and begins infiltrating therein via the epithelial cells of the underlying vasculature.
The immune system reacts by tipping the balance towards clotting (releasing factors that make the blood more “sticky” and conducive to clotting), in effort to stall the intruders right in their point of entry before entering the wider circulatory system.