Woman with stomach pain after eating,Hand female holding her belly,Food poisoning,Digestion problems,Close up

Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EOE): A Deeper Look at Antecedents, Triggers, and Mediators

My first EOE patient in the early 2000’s was fortunately, already diagnosed by a very savvy Yale gastroenterologist. I hadn’t heard of EOE at that time, but quickly learned about this highly challenging and potentially disabling mixed IgE allergic condition. It was clear immediately that functional medicine was the solution, and despite my lack of awareness of EOE, I had much to offer my first patient. Since then, we’ve seen more and more EOE patients in clinical practice, unfortunately, due to the meteoric rise of this condition. Fortunately, our tools continue to benefit.

Furin

The Furin Protease Connection: From SARS CoV-2 and Anthrax, to Diabetes and Hypertension

Earlier this year, Coutard et al proposed that the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein (S) contains a furin cleavage complex (FCC) which was likely playing a role in the pathogenicity of this particular virus. Fast forward a few weeks, and some further connections can be made with relevance for how we might interpret risk and choose interventions…

SARS

A few additional treatment possibilities in COVID19 (SARS Cov-2) addressing furin-like cleavage and pyroptosis (caspacin-1 activation of inflammasome NLRP3)

The cytokine storm seen in SARS Cov1 and Cov2 might be due to chronic pyroptosis activation. However, known activators of NLRP3 in SARS-CoV differ from CoV2.  While SARS Cov1 and COVID19 are genetically very similar, the extraordinarily high rate of infectivity of COVID19 is unique. Prepublication research suggests the cause might be a unique furin-like cleavage site on the spike protein of Cov2 that was absent in Cov1.