So far, we’ve discussed the historical legacy of vaccines as man-made enhancements for our existing immune weaponry. And we’ve taken a look at some of the extensive defenses of the innate immune system that guard us day and night from the billions of natural viruses and bacteria roaming the earth. But like any fortress, there are vulnerabilities to be exploited. One way or another, pathogens can occasionally slip through and start using the body’s resources to replicate and cause major damage. In these cases, the immune system has to switch tactics from defensive to offensive. The first step is raising…
Comments closedTag: Immunology
For most of history and the long origin story of vaccines, we have known very little about the mechanics of how bodies defend against disease. The practice of variolation—purposefully exposing individuals to dried infected material to stimulate immunity—was borne out of the simple observation that people who survive sickness don’t tend to get sick again. The science of immunity didn’t really fall under much scientific scrutiny until the 19th century after Edward Jenner made his pivotal cowpox/smallpox vaccine discovery. Cowpox and smallpox were clearly different diseases with differences in severity, animal host, and mode of transmission. But, despite these differences,…
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A few weeks ago, we talked about antibodies and how they can convey immunity after an infection or a vaccine. Recently, there has been a lot of talk about antibody tests and whether they could be used to allow “immune” individuals to return to work. But there are a lot of misconceptions about these tests, what they actually tell us, and how they should be implemented. There is a persistent misconception that if an individual has antibodies, they are completely immune to reinfection. It is completely possible, even likely, that if you got the coronavirus and barely had any symptoms,…
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Last week, I very briefly brought up the concept of a “cytokine storm,” a dangerous immune response to a perceived threat. Cytokine storms have been linked to Covid-19 related deaths—where, in some cases, patients weather the disease itself for some time only to suddenly crash. Cytokines could even possibly be the culprit behind the blood clots and strokes that are being seen in some Covid-19 patients (although this has not been confirmed—the prevalence of blood clots in Covid-19 patients may be a direct consequence of the virus). Cytokine storms are immune system overreactions that can happen towards the end of…
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Last week, we went through some of the science of viruses: how they infect, how they evolve, and how they can make the jump from one species to another. This week, I want to touch on some of the ways the medical field combats viruses, such as with vaccines, used to promote immunity, and anti-viral drugs, used to treat viral infections and reduce their severity. In the past few months, researchers around the world have been scrambling to produce a vaccine or anti-viral treatment to curb the spread and mortality rate of Covid-19, producing results at record breaking speeds. But…
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