Have poked at the changes in the recent variants... did a deep dive on the virus issues, again...
Lots of variation... I find the Delta unusual, still, with a pairing of changes at the Furin site and on the terminal groups of the spike N proteins that are now a completely different structure... preventing the immune functions that worked against the prior end groups from working at all. And, with 9 other known variations that they say have not yet been categorized... they don't know what they do, or do differently...
A couple of things pop out... Variations in corona virus spike proteins happen a lot... and each alters the relative ease with which a virus causes an infection... along with the "what the virus does to you" elements... along with changing what works and doesn't in immune functions...
That's why you shouldn't target spike proteins in a vaccine... it makes the vaccine a mimic of the spike protein toxin... and it makes the vaccine irrelevant with a mutation at that site. Instead, vaccines should target STABLE portions of the genome, that are unique to the family, but otherwise mostly generic or inert sequences... giving broad spectrum protection without the vaccine itself imposing toxicity.
But, the same issues apply in drug therapy... Ivermectin, in particular, is a narrowly enough targeted drug that a single mutation might obviate its utility... which for now isn't an issue...
There has also been enough work done by now on small drug molecules... that work not by binding with narrow specificity to particularly structured protein sequences... but by interfering generally with their ability to bind to receptors... so, the spike protein cleavage at the Furin site will fail to function, for instance, resulting in much lower success rates in attachment.... etc.
That's fairly simple science work... you mimic the receptor functions with an appropriate structure... and the viral attachment function with an appropriate structure... and then just "stir them together" with a range of chemical modulators... and see what works. When you find things that work in conducting a basic screening, then you test them again in different conditions, with different cell models, or in vivo in mouse models... and see if they still work... etc. You also test them against multiple viruses to see what sort of a range they have, and how narrow or specific the viruses are in response to particular inhibitors... how narrow or broad the inhibitors are in their functions against the range of viruses... And, from there... can figure out the specifics of what the particular receptor functions are, etc. What you tend to end up with is... known molecules with optimal function re a particular virus... or broad function against many... knowing how well they'll work, how toxic they are, etc.
Here's a couple of articles about stuff like like that:
Furin cleavage of SARS-CoV-2 Spike promotes but is not essential for infection and cell-cell fusion
Furin Inhibitors Block SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Cleavage to Suppress Virus Production and Cytopathic Effects
The delta variant of SARS-CoV-2: What do we know about it?
Small-Molecule Inhibitors of the Coronavirus Spike: ACE2 Protein–Protein Interaction as Blockers of Viral Attachment and Entry for SARS-CoV-2
So, given there are known functional molecules that WORK to reduce infection... why insist that we need to engineer vaccines for particular protein sequences ? Why expensive, specific vaccines that take a long time to develop... and are one mutation away from irrelevance... instead of generic drugs that are functional, cheap. readily available and that have already been tested and used, so are well known in relation to their use as drugs ?
Hydroxychloroquinne clearly is one of those... but, it isn't the only one ? HCQ was also screened in many of these survey tests and they found it "did nothing"... which made headlines... but which was true only because HCQ doesn't work by inhibiting the attachment molecules... or by preventing virus from penetrating cell walls ? So, if you test it for that... you shouldn't expect it to work ? HCQ works by enabling zinc to cross the membranes to move into the vaccuoles... where the zinc kills the virus in a "hidden" spot that it prefers... that it expects to be zinc free.
But, do the same series of survey tests for multiple molecules versus different functions... and you easily come up with overlapping inhibitory functions... in different molecules that work in different ways...
Why won't they do that work ? Only because the drugs that work... are cheap and readily available ?
In any case... one of the obvious "winners" from that screening linked above... is Methylene Blue. Seems it works to inhibit the virus... at very low doses... is well known in its pharmacokinetics... still used as front line drug in a couple instances... its cheap... its readily available. It works as an antiviral, antifungal, antibiotic, antioxidant, nootropic, an anxiolytic and mild MAOI anitidepressant... which requires a note if mixing with other antidepressants to avoid serotonin syndrome. It works in metabolic diseases... boosts mitochondrial function... so, used in Alzheimer's... and it functions as both a partial replacement for and restorer of the function of hemoglobin in cases of acute poisoning that prevent the blood from carrying oxygen... And, its first use...as a treatment for malaria...
Take a functional medicine approach... and note what the new variants do differently... and just treat those new symptoms in additive fashion, the same way you'd treat them in other diseases... like a cold ? The Delta acts more like a cold... so treat the cold symptoms like a cold... by layering in a thing or two for that... while sustaining the focus on preventing the bigger risk issues in lungs, clotting, inflammation, and preventing chronic effects in a long lasting viremia... ?
So, along with vitamin D, elderberry and zinc... quercitin / berberine... throw in a bit more magnesium... magnesium threonate a good source... and/or use a bit of guaifenesin / dextromethorphan (Robitusin) to keep lungs clear if you need to... But, eat a lot more garlic and that should keep your lungs clear... and eat more walnuts... get some magnolia bark. another multifunctional choice, an anti-inflammatory that will also help you sleep better... huperzine A for vascular health, avoiding brain fog....
And, methylene blue works to prevent infection, even in tiny doses (< 5 - 10 mg/day) ... is mostly pretty harmless... or good for you... as long as you get material that is pharmaceutical grade. It does turn your pee slightly greenish... or quite blue... depending on dose. They do sell it over the counter as a drug for treating fungal infections in fish tanks... turns the water dark blue... But, lower grade material like that is made without cleaning it up to pharmaceutical grade standards... and a common byproduct of its manufacture is the toxin arsenic... which you don't want to ingest ? |
