Many may express frustration towards the academic types of medicine, accusing them of having their heads buried so deep in their labs that they don’t appreciate clinical applications. I agree at times, but this research on the mechanisms by which elderberry inhibits influenza activity could only be done in a lab by such academics.
Blame Your Great-Grandmother for Your Flu Symptoms
The study of epigenetics marches forward in unearthing previously unimagined connections between our ancestors and our health. Several organ systems have revealed their transgenerational effects of ancestral environmental exposure (see a few in studies listed at end). In a recent study by Post et al,
In this case, I will spend less time summarizing the linked article and more time encouraging you to read the articles directly. Medscape provides a great summary of the potential animal born infections that can affect humans. These diseases are called zoonoses. They are contracted when humans interact with the animals who are carriers of the bacteria or viruses.
Another sigh comes out of the functional medicine community as Technical University of Munich researchers announce research that simultaneous infections with liver flukes and H. pylori modulate the diseases in comparison to having either infection alone. Why do we sigh? Simply because we already knew that parasites and bacteria such as Lyme can interact in our patients.
The science of the gut microbiome exploded in recent years. More and more connections arise from lab experiments at a dizzying pace. This time we learn that certain Bacillus and Staphylococcus aureus don’t get along in the neighborhood. Staph aureus makes headlines as a nasty bug, even at times a superbug resistant to multiple antibiotics,