by Michael Stanclift, ND Vitamin C helps with immune system function, but due to its ubiquity, it is often underappreciated clinically. With the current COVID-19 pandemic clinicians are in search of clinical tools that are relatively easy to acquire, safe, and effective. Vitamin C (AKA ascorbic acid/ascorbate) plays an important role in immune function with Swiss Army knife-like utility. We are one of the rare animals that lack the ability to make vitamin C within our body, so we must…

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…

COVID-19 March 30, 2020 Update Most of us are exercising physical distancing, avoiding running unnecessary errands, and other control measures in order to minimize person-to-person transmission of COVID-19. The goal is to “flatten the curve,” to delay the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus, thereby reducing the surge of illnesses in a very short time and allowing the healthcare system to breathe, to accommodate, to provide proper patient care. However, how long can (or should) schools remain closed, businesses shut,…

(Coronavirus) COVID-19 March 27, 2020 Update Two Research Letters published online March 26th in the JAMA described 3 cases of possible vertical transmission.1,2 In the first report,1 an infant girl was delivered by cesarean in a negative-pressure isolation room. She had no symptoms and was immediately quarantined. The mother with COVID-19 wore an N95 mask and did not hold the infant. Test results 2 hours after birth showed higher IgM antibody level. Because IgM antibodies do not usually appear until…

COVID-19 March 25, 2020 Update According to the first published article analyzing currently available cases in China, the overall finding is: children at ALL ages were susceptible to COVID-19, but their clinical symptoms were generally less severe compared to adult patients.1 Between January 16 and February 8, 2020, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 2,143 cases with COVID-19 who were under the age of 18. Researchers from Shanghai Children’s Medical Center (Shanghai, China) proceeded to analyze the characteristics…

by Lewis Chang, PhD 1 . What was observed among patients with COVID-19 infection? According to three recently published studies, the most common comorbidities in patients with COVID-19 are hypertension (high blood pressure) and diabetes; roughly 20-30% of them had hypertension, and 6-22% of them had diabetes.1-3 There are other comorbidities reported, such as coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease. But hypertension and diabetes appear to be the most common, at least based on currently available data. 2.  Do scientists…

by Lewis Chang, PhD Low levels of vitamin D in the blood (25-hydroxyvitamin D) are associated with higher risks of acute upper and lower respiratory tract infections such as flu, according to a systematic review based on 39 human epidemiological studies.1 During late winter and early spring, solar radiation is weak and the vitamin D synthesis via our skin is at its lowest. As a result, our serum vitamin D levels are much lower compared to during summer.2 It is…

by Michael Stanclift, ND Even before the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak was declared a pandemic, we were having a tough season for respiratory illnesses. For example, in January both of my children developed severe respiratory infections requiring hospitalization. They weren’t diagnosed with COVID-19, but instead were sick from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The resources for their treatment are the same as for the current COVID-19 pandemic. As we were transferring my son to the pediatric intensive care unit (ICU), a nurse…