The Medical Advisor

By now, you're probably aware that one of the lethal effects of COVID-19 is the virus' ability to trigger a cytokine storm. It makes sense then that many health practitioners are looking at ways to strengthen and improve immune function. The good news is there are several strategies that appear very helpful in this respect. Supplements and strategies that have been identified as capable of modulating immune responses and suppressing cytokine storm include but are not limited to: Vitamin D optimization Molecular hydrogen Ketone esters Astaxanthin Melatonin To this list, we can also add the omega-3 fats docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), long-chained omega-3 fats found in cold-water fatty fish like wild-caught Alaskan salmon, sardines, anchovies and krill, just to name a few. DHA and EPA May Ameliorate Cytokine Storm According to the opinion paper "The Potential Beneficial Effect of EPA and DHA Supplementation Managing Cytokine Storm in Coronavirus D...

MSCs (Mesenchymal Stem Cells) are a class of multipotent cells that are readily found in umbilical cord tissue, adipose tissue, bone marrow, dental pulp, and periosteum (a type of connective tissue that envelops bone). These cells are often called by other names as well, such as Medicinal Signaling Cells, Mesenchymal Stromal Cells, Marrow Stromal Cells, and Mesenchymal Stem Cells , despite much controversy in the field about using this term . MSCs represent a population of cells that have the potential to treat a wide range of acute and degenerative diseases. They are advantageous over other stem cells types for a variety of reasons. First, they avoid the ethical issues that surround embryonic stem cell research. Second, repeated studies have found MSCs to be immuno-advantaged, which make them an advantageous cell type for allogenic transplantation. MSCs reduce both the risks of rejection and complications of transplantation. Recently, there have also been advances in the use of autolo...

People on average are living longer than ever before. In part, this is due to medical advances that have made it possible to save more people from life-threatening diseases, injuries and congenital conditions. But as people live longer, they're more likely to acquire chronic diseases or develop age-related conditions. Globally, there is an increasing incidence of chronic and degenerative diseases, and nearly 1 in 2 Americans has a chronic medical condition. After the onset of most chronic diseases or injuries, the damage is there to stay — consider scarring of heart tissue from a heart attack, beta cell dysfunction in diabetes or a spinal cord injury from an accident. Symptoms can be managed, oftentimes with good success, but the underlying tissue or organ damage remains unhealed and can cause complications over time. To develop new clinical applications that address the unmet needs of these patients, in 2011 Mayo Clinic established the Center for Regenerative Medicine, now called ...

Blood stem cell transplantation is a radical but highly effective therapy for multiple sclerosis. A study led by the University of Zurich has now examined in detail the way in which the treatment curbs the autoimmune disease and how the immune system regenerates afterwards. A better understanding of these mechanisms should help the treatment approach, currently approved in only a few countries, to gain wider acceptance. Every day, one person in Switzerland is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s own immune system attacks the myelin sheath of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The disease leads to paralysis, pain and permanent fatigue, among other symptoms. Fortunately, there have been great advances in therapies in recent decades. A study by the Department of Neuro-immunology and MS Research at the University of Zurich (UZH) and the Department of Medical Oncology and Haematology Clinic at the University Hospital Z...

While steroid injections can often be a “quick fix” for pain, they often accelerate the progression of the disease the patient is suffering from. Still, thousands of medical practitioners and physicians around the globe continue to give their patients steroid injections because they say it makes them feel good, at least for the time being anyway. However, a momentary state of euphoria is not justification enough to put the patient through the multiple risk factors associated with steroids. Healthcare physicians and patients alike need to consider the risks and ramifications of steroid injections, especially when it comes to short-term pain management. What follows is an attempt to bring awareness to the medical community, both on the doctor’s and patient’s side, about the potential dangers of steroid injections. Risks of Steroid Injections The most common form of steroid injection for pain comes in the form of corticosteroids, which are most commonly injected right into the patient’s j...