Akkermansia muciniphila is a unique mucin-loving keystone species residing in the human gastrointestinal tract, purportedly offering health benefits, especially in the realms of metabolic health and obesity.1 Clinical investigations exploring A. muciniphila supplementation in overweight and obese cohorts seek to elucidate its potential impact on metabolic parameters, adiposity, and other health metrics. Studies consistently show reduced abundance in obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and other metabolic conditions.2 Intervention studies in animals demonstrated A. muciniphila administration reversed high-fat diet-induced metabolic disorders,…

by Joseph Lamb, MD “In 1982, while on sabbatical at the Linus Pauling Institute, I became convinced from the discussions I had with Dr. Pauling and many other luminaries that visited the Institute that the only way to really differentiate disease care from health care was through the development of a system that quantified health in terms of function and not the absence of disease.” —Jeffrey Bland, PhD President, Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute We all likely agree with Dr. Bland…

In this interview, Professor Charles Serhan, PhD, DSc describes new work highlighting the connection between specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) and the vagus nerve. Dr. Serhan reflects back at his proudest moments of his career, and on the most exciting recent developments. Finally, Dr. Serhan delivers a message on the state of resolution science today, and what is needed to advance SPM-based therapies in the future. Charles Serhan, PhD, DSc is Director of the Center for Experimental Therapeutics and Reperfusion Injury…

As part of this conversation, Gabrielle Fredman, PhD describes what is meant by the failure of resolution, and the mechanisms that can drive this failure in atherosclerosis. Dr. Fredman ends by outlining the potential for specialized pro-resolving mediator (SPM) therapies in the management of vascular disease. Gabrielle Fredman, PhD is Associate Professor at Albany Medical College, Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology. From the 16th International Conference on Bioactive Lipids in Cancer, Inflammation and Related Diseases, October 2019 in St…

by Lewis Chang, PhD Introduction “Damned if I don’t get more tired every day. Tired of what I do. Following arcs, like lobbed rocks. The inevitability of truth. But the complexity and the grey lie not in the truth, but what you do with the truth once you have it.”—Detective Benoit Blanc (played by Daniel Craig, in the 2019 film Knives Out) The current pandemic is not showing any sign of slowing in the US and many parts of the…

As the current pandemic rages on, several hundred clinical trials are recruiting and ongoing hoping to identify efficacious antiviral and anti-inflammatory strategies. In a new commentary published in the journal Cancer Metastasis and Reviews (Springer Nature publishing group),1 a group of prominent researchers proposed a promising, complementary direction worthy of consideration: targeting inflammation resolution. Who contributed to this commentary? The article was led by Dipak Panigrahy, MD, at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center of Harvard Medical School, who has had…

by Lewis Chang, PhD What is cytokine storm? Cytokines are a diverse group of polypeptides secreted by cells that have numerous physiological functions, including regulation of inflammatory and immune responses. The rapid response of our highly complex immune system against pathogens or cellular damage is vital for maintaining homeostasis and health. Cytokine storm refers to a situation in which the protective immune response goes out of control, leading to unregulated release of excessive amounts of cytokines that spill into systemic…

COVID-19 April 2, 2020 Update Currently, the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection heavily relies on RT-PCR-based viral RNA detection method. Although the test has high sensitivity (i.e., true positive rate), there are challenges with the test that may cause delay of a confirmed diagnosis, thereby impacting timing of treatment and ability to control further spread of the virus. Here are some variables: Test sample collected at different stage of infection: The viral RNA test has high sensitivity in the early stage…

COVID-19 March 31, 2020 Update Keeping the immune system healthy is on most people’s minds during the current COVID-19 pandemic. According to epidemiological data, smoking increases susceptibility and severity of flu caused by the influenza virus.1 And experimental data have shown that cigarette smoke directly inhibits epithelial antiviral pathways and increases replication of influenza virus.2 There are also data showing higher mortality among smokers in the 2012 outbreak caused by a coronavirus known as MERS-CoV.3 However, as SARS-CoV-2 is a…

by Kara Fitzgerald, ND It looks like pyroptosis, a novel form of inflammatory cell death, may be a cause of the increased virulence of COVID-19 (although it was seen in SARS-CoV-1, too). Pyroptosis initiates the upregulation of inflammasome NLRP31 via caspase-1 proteases in the canonical pathway. Other caspases can also upregulate the inflammasome initiated by a variety of triggers. The end results of NLRP3 upregulation include IL-1β and IL-18 production and cell death. In COVID-19 patients, higher serum IL-1β (a…