Hide and Seek and Your Health

The many threats to our health and well-being (our health equity) encounter our last line of defense, our immune system. Whether the pathogen is a virus, bacterium, fungus, parasite, mold or cancer cell. Defending cells become mobilized by the body to attack and neutralize the threat, most often destructively. They do so by circulating white cells or leukocytes often called phagocytes because they devour pathogens; they are the mobile cavalry of the body. Hijacking these cells as do the retroviruses or fooling them into impotence as does strep viridans, or bringing monocytes in as heavy cavalry to form sloughs or impediments if not counter attackers as may measles, are forms of disease sleight of hand.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a bacterium associated with hospitals, burns, HIV infection, and contamination of medical instruments. It is noted for its ubiquity in avoidance of antibiotic and chemotherapeutic destruction, resulting in only one or two drugs having limited success against it. Recent research has identified a biofilm produced by the bacterium which literally produces a "no fly" zone between the mass of bacteria on an agar plate and agents, living and chemically capable of destroying it. Apparently, certain radio frequencies as well as certain solvent chemicals are capable of eliminating the "no fly zone" restoring the efficacy of many "resisted" agents. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus Aureus are the main invaders in victims of cystic fibrosis of the lungs and cause a dangerous and often deadly pneumonia. Erasing their vulnerability to existing agents will be a boon to sufferers, if the agar plate phenomena are the same as in the human body.

Medscape and WebMD along with Sigma Xi report on researchers who have identified strains of strep viridans (strep throat, cardiac valvulitis, inflammatory rheumatoid arthritis throughout the body) which attack red blood cells and cloak themselves in the protein shards of the destroyed cells. They can successfully ward off attacks by the wandering white cells which are programmed not to attack the red cell protein. They have ways of turning off, (locally and temporarily) by reprogramming, leukocyte attacks are also being explored. Removal of tumor cell protection from attack by the immune system combined with targeting, offers new and more successful interventions against a variety of malignancies. The speed and numbers involved with evolutionary processes puts mankind perpetually behind a cosmic eight ball in the hide and seek battle with deadly agents.