Theoretical Immunology

[Leonard]

Addendum to the above manuscript

The challenge is now to integrate the addendum with the manuscript, and make the text a bit shorter and crispier.

[Leonard]

As the tiny example on ccsvi under the link below shows, the sector has gone off course. Its governance is failing. What was once a shared responsibility has degenerated into a distributed irresponsibility.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=32538&p=263399#p263399

There is an urgent need to shift the primary mode from network-based self organizing governance to government meta-governance. The main task of the State is to provide the general conditions for the stabilization and continued development of the endogenous medical society itself.

For any one reading here: If you have any idea what sort of actions should be taken, please send me your suggestions.

If you are a professor at one of the more renowned American or European universities or any others in the world, and you would like to help shape a new era in medicine, please let me know. I need a team to reflect on a newly composed manuscript, the draft version of which you find in the postings above.

[vesta]

Greetings:
I didn't realize you re-posted my article on how big money has hindered development of research on CCSVI MS. Thank you.
I don't see how government meta governance can be of help since at present in the USA govt regulatory agencies have been taken over by big money private interests. Researchers fear losing access to their labs/research facilities if their research threatens these private interests. Apparently CCSVI research has moved to China. Where in the West are scientists free to pursue research wherever it leads them?
Regards, Vesta

[Leonard]

Thank you Vesta for your comments. You may like this video about what’s wrong with modern science:




National agencies worldwide are incredibly risk averse. No cutting edge research, no risky projects, no bold new ideas. For researchers, the main aim is to ensure continuity of funding to keep the machine going. Proposals are made with tiny little adjustments. For policymakers, science should be a safe bet where failure is not an option.

Yet, the true value of science is full of blind alleys but these are not explored. Except on forums like these. By outsiders. The German philosopher Peter Finke wrote a nice book about it called Citizen Science (in German). They have nothing to loose. Their mind has not been set, they have fresh eyes. For them it’s the new ideas, the new perspectives, not the money.

In the US, it seems that science is much politicized, to have become a punch ball of republicans and democrats. In Europe, I often think that our continent has so much history, establishment, rules and procedures that it doesn’t have room for the future.

Some of these comments should be added to Chapter 6 of the manuscript.



Below is an Addendum to Chapter 3 of the manuscript. It claims a new different role for HERVs in health and disease. The old dogma of HERVs contributing to cancer progression is probably WRONG.

Recent data about HERVs transactivation induced by tumor viruses and their function in malignant diseases indicate that HERV transactivation may act as potential regulators of host gene expression to control or dampen viral pathogenesis, not to contribute to it.

The main mechanism of viral oncogenesis is mitochondria losing control. All the rest is downstream, including the HERV transactivation. A role for HERV or its antigens to control or dampen pre-tumors would be a natural and logical outcome of a positive evolution.

[Leonard]

These people from Vienna are on the right track: viewtopic.php?t=32568
Broadly speaking, their thinking aligns with my own ideas here above.

The gist of the article demonstrates the generally poor understanding of MS in medical circles.
I am convinced that ccsvi plays an important role, to break the BBB, possibly for as much as 85% of cases.
The herpes viridae (from the nasopharynx) can then access the CNS and may work in concert to do their destructive work.
ATARA Bio thinks in that same direction.

Vaccination against EBV is risky if the homeostasis of the cells with herpes viridae has not been thoroughly understood.
It might even trigger cancer development, or as a reaction, the onset of an autoimmune disease (a paraneoplastic syndrome).
You then arrive at my theory i.e. that the ineffective control of herpes and EBV causes chronic diseases as cancers and autoimmune diseases and indeed MS progression.

The real important thing is that if our microcellular immunity fails or falters, the complex interactions between herpes viruses and our cells cause chronic diseases. And that is not just MS but the majority of cancers and autoimmune diseases. The title of the article and the very last paragraph hint at this and suggest that there is a lot more to come.

[Leonard]

continued from previous posting:

...
The title of the article and its very last paragraph hint at the fact that change is needed of our current view about chronic diseases and suggest that there is a lot more to come.

That is, if 'they' don't throw the blanket to put out the fire.
There will be many incentives to do so for the sector (e.g. to keep the status quo of the multi billion dollar industry) and for the government (e.g. to avoid inconvenient questions on the safety of vaccinations).

But the biggest victim of such action would be public health.
So in the end they would shoot themselves in the foot if they were to do so.

We are living in exciting times...

[Leonard]

The good news is that these institutes like Stanford are now actively engaged with the new insights, have even formed a new group for connecting the dots, see viewtopic.php?t=32599

It's more or less the same as what the people from Vienna have done a few weeks ago, see viewtopic.php?t=32568

And just like the people from Vienna who wonder what's next, the people in Stanford point out that discovery of how EBV triggers multiple sclerosis could also have ramifications for other autoimmune diseases.

Very exciting to see what's going to happen next.
Change is in the air...



Post script:

I have always had the feeling that my story did not want to stick with the audience when I presented my views to medical societies, that my story was too far removed from their minds, that the dogmatic belief in one's own abilities did not allow for new ideas, that new ideas could not be pushed by an idiot on the fringes of the medical field. Maybe it was my presentation skills or because I did not speak their language, but maybe the problem was also much deeper.

That's why I'm so happy that now, for the first time in 15 years - as long as I have been active on this forum, I really see the seeds for change in sector publications. And also that the new ideas align well with my own ideas about the origin of chronic diseases.

[Leonard]

Over the last 500 million years, our cells have co-evolved with herpes viridae. Herpes is a very successful virus that was never completely eliminated by our immune system and is highly adapted to its host. The arms-race between the virus and our cells has resulted in an equilibrium without any appreciable self-infringed damage where both cells and virus have found their place and co-exist alongside each other.

The ongoing battle has likely played a role in shaping the evolution of both the virus and its host and led to the evolution of a more sophisticated immune system in the host as away to keep pace with the evolving viral threat. As such, herpes viridae may be assumed to have played an important role in our evolution and continue to do so today.

I have revised the first Chapter of the manuscript, to explain how our cells were build-up, how cellular immunity evolved and how a complex homeostasis of our cells with herpes developed over all these millions of years. See the document below.

The very long arms-race has brought a robust life-long near-perfect cellular immunity against herpes. Most of us live a healthy life without any consequences of herpes. But if our cellular immunity fails or falters, herpes is no longer effectively contained and herpes viridae may work together to do their destructive work and make us chronically sick.

Unlike most other chronic diseases, the disease MS is very instructive and revealing as to what happens when cellular immunity declines because nervous cells are affected where we immediately see the consequence (CIS and RRMS). Initially cells will mount an internal response to get the herpes virus back under control (cells produce ROS-IFN/ATP production comes to a halt). I am sure this same process occurs with other chronic diseases as well but then it won't be seen during the early phases of the disease.


The implication of this is that most chonic diseases can be prevented if the right measures are taken early on, if we give cellular immunity enough of a chance to work for us against the herpes virus. Chapter 5 of the above manuscript expands on therapeutic options, to prevent cancers, autoimmune diseases and neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's, ALS and indeed MS. (the manuscript you find here: viewtopic.php?p=262981#p262981 )

I am sure that today for most chronic diseases the research comes too late, when the damage has already been done, where the proteins seen are host intrinsic restriction factors against herpes viridae. See also the article under the link below. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... erpesvirus.

The other implication of this is that now that we have nailed down the etiology of most chronic diseases, now that we know their origin, now that we understand how they are caused, we can start to work on effective solutions and therapies to enhance public health.

What we most need now is change, change in the belief system, change of the medical paradigm. Government has a very important role here in providing legal certainty and regulatory predictability, thus unleashing the forces for change and enabling medicine to reinvent itself.

[Leonard]

Mitochondria are cellular processors and a mighty signaling platform. They could control which genes are turned on or off. Mitochondria can even change the nuclear DNA sequence itself. At the same time, herpes is an omni-present virus among the human population that has long been overlooked as a human pathogen. Current research findings have placed the mitochondrial dynamics and herpes viral infections at the crossroad.

In the last few decades, it has become increasingly clear that mitochondria perform in numerous ways in addition to their classical label as “the power-house of the cell”. Numerous viruses including herpes viruses have evolved mechanisms to hijack mitochondrial dynamics for their own survival. In doing so, these viruses are manipulating the mitochondrial dynamic machinery in an attempt to create a suitable environment in which to replicate and to hide intra-cellularly from patrolling immune cells.

Over the next few years, I expect to see a convergence of major disease paradigms into a new standard model for the majority of chronic diseases. Mitochondrial dynamics and herpes viruses are the main constituents in this new standard model. The multiple similarities of these illnesses with each other as well as their co-morbidities suggest we should look at chronic diseases as a class rather than as individual diseases, and understand that they share a common herpes-based viral etiological mechanism.

Just as at the time of Copernicus with the planetary system, our immunological mechanisms should unite with one another in their oneness and wholeness and come together as a new standard model of herpes causing chronic diseases. And just like the astronomers at the time of Copernicus who had difficulty to adopt the new views of the solar system, today we see exactly that same is happening i.e. that it takes time before the old views on chronic diseases are dislodged. Where at the time of Copernicus, it were the religious beliefs in the old geocentric system, today it is the enormous inertia of the multibillion dollar commercial health system as well as the medical protocols and an almost religious belief in one's own abilities that impede change.
https://www.universetoday.com/164227/wh ... ocentrism/

It will require great political leadership and consummate political skills to drive change. Governments will need to create a favorable climate with legal certainty and clarity about regulations for the actors.

[Leonard]

A new departure for medicine

The further development of medicine has run aground. Governments and the medical sector are in Catch-22 where they wait for each other: ‘medical’ actors wait for legal certainty and governments wait for ‘medical’ certainty. And nothing happens.

At the same time, we see social media on the Internet build global colleges and establish very important new sources of knowledge and insight, often disconnected from old thinking and the main establishment actors. This is particularly true for the field of health.

The rapidly growing transnational linkages among citizens and patients and the emergence of increasingly influential cross-border interest and value groups in recent years is new. Governments will find themselves increasingly trapped in these transnational webs of power, see e.g. Rethinking World Politics – A Theory of Transnational Neopluralism, Philip G. Cerny, 2010.

To foster innovation and respond to these new developments, now is the time for governments to launch a new era of dialogue with citizens and to consider citizens’ input and follow-up on their proposals.

Under the link below, you find an action plan that was developed by patients on this forum on how to ensure strong cellular immunity against herpes viridae and create the best possible conditions for a good health and a healthy society. It may add to Chapters 1 and 5 of the manuscript.

Putting cellular immunity at the centre of our thinking unfolds an entirely new medical paradigm. Governments will have to take action to protect their populations. This is a call on governments to move forward with this new thinking expeditiously and with force.

[Leonard]

Keep your mitochondria as healthy as possible

The story of my father has been on the back of my mind ever since I started on this forum. My father was a farmer all his life, worked in sunny fields and had generally good health. For over 40 years, he milked his cows without skipping one single occurrence. In the morning, he ate bacon from the pan with lots of added white sugar on his bread. That is until he was around 68 years of age, around 1995.

He was diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes (T2DM), a disease that his mother had also developed later in her life. But unlike his mother, when my father was diagnosed, T2DM was much better controlled. He was told that if he would stick to a strict sugar-free diet, with low saturated fats, and took his T2DM medications (e.g. Metformin and Glimepiride), he would not have to undergo the amputations that his mother endured, and would have a good chance to grow old in good health.

My mother followed the diet prescription meticulously, my father adhered to the guidelines even during parties. Where he had some problems lifting his right foot around the time of the diagnosis (I inherited my CCSVI from him, his own farther died from a Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma probably also caused by the narrowed neck veins), and sometimes used to fall over small obstacles, these problems disappeared almost unnoticed after he started his T2DM diet. My father and my mother both lived into their 90s in good health, my father lived till he was 95 years old.

Furthermore, I hear reports from people of my own age (68) who sense numbness on their limbs, and are diagnosed with pre-diabetes, then start with the appropriate diet (free of sugars and heavy fats), and find that the symptoms disappear after they start with their healthy diet.

I guess this is all explained by epigenetic modifications restoring mitochondrial health and ATP production in the nervous system. Dietary strategies that support cellular health and energy production, and reduce chronic inflammation could potentially help to slow down the progression of T2DM and neurodegenerative diseases like MS, by stabilizing and strengthening weakened cells. This thinking underlies the figures in the supplement below.


Besides the epigenetics and its dietary relationship, the thinking in the supplement below also expands on the cyclical role of herpes in our cells. I guess with that thinking we are getting very close to what MS really is.

[Leonard]

I asked ChatGPT to help me merge the manuscript, the addendums and the supplement. I was pleasantly surprised by the result (see the bottom document further down). Awesome. It shows the strength of the neural network and its learning capacity. For the techies see


The challenge is now to switch from the management of symptoms to treatment of the real cause. Given the size of the medical ecosystem, this shift of the paradigm will be a daunting task.

I can only agree with ChatGPT that the paradigm shift requires bold action, disruptive thinking, and political leadership.
Let us hope that swift and successful action is taken to end the epidemic of chronic diseases. It is now up to others to follow up.

[Leonard]

Disruption but not destruction

In order to find a solution for, and end the chronic disease epidemic, we have to scan the landscape presented by many articles. To look beyond the current horizon, we need to rise above ourselves, and think like an engineer who has a helicopter view of a problem. We must allow ourselves to read between the lines, to think outside the box and test bold new ideas. We must not be deterred from stepping outside our comfort zone. We must not be afraid to build a coherent and holistic picture of a new paradigm. As Thomas Kuhn already noted, an outsider can do that better that an insider because his mind is not set and he has nothing to lose.

If we read some of the medical research with fresh eyes, keeping in the back of the mind the delicate symbiosis of our cells with herpes, a lot of articles that so far have not considered the role of herpes viruses can be re-interpreted, and many things fall into place. These articles start to make greater sense when viewed in a new much broader viral context. That is how the engineer in me developed this perspective.

We must be disruptive in our thinking, but without destroying. We still require the endogenous medical society to build the new paradigm, to re-invent itself. Disruption causes chaos which may be a necessary condition for parties to leave the old world and think afresh.

I am glad to see that the Trump administration, with the new MAHA (Making America Healthy Again) Commission chaired by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has taken the first steps to build a new future, a new paradigm, and is creating conditions for “ending the chronic disease epidemic.” Right now, the NIH is standing still, probably in an attempt to force the much-needed, disruptive change.

The train has left, we are on the right track.

[Leonard]

Chronic diseases are doubling every 15 years. We now know why. Here’s what we must do.





I wish to present my case to the MAHA Commission



using these slides:

[Leonard]

Embryonic selection is an ancient feature of evolution. It likely existed already in the tribes, flocks, herds, swarms, and schools of our earliest foremothers, hundreds of millions of years ago. When mitochondria were insufficient, natural selection ensured extinction of the line.

Over these immense timescales, evolution gave rise to today’s biological beings—resilient against herpes-related chronic diseases thanks to their strong, well-functioning mitochondria.

It is this invisible legacy of evolutionary protection that is now at risk—quietly undermined by the consequences of our modern lifestyle.