The Gary Null Show - 10.26.22

Videos :

1. Robby Soave: PayPal Threatens To Take $2,500 From Users Who Promote ‘Misinformation’ (9:26)
2. ED DOWD: COVID AND THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL COLLAPSE: A TALE OF CATASTROPHES AND COVER-UPS (32:50 – 42:50)
3. Tidal energy could be huge – why isn’t it? (4:00)
4. Back To the Future of Wind Energy Technology with Paul Gipe (7:23)
5. No, this angry AI isn’t fake (see comment), w Elon Musk. (3:24)
6. Dr. Bhakdi Clip (7:27)

 

Study shows inexpensive, readily available chemical (GABA) may limit impact of COVID-19

University of California, Los Angeles, October 25, 2022

Preclinical studies in mice that model human COVID-19 suggest that an inexpensive, readily available amino acid might limit the effects of the disease and provide a new off-the-shelf therapeutic option for infections with SARS-CoV-2 variants and perhaps future novel coronaviruses.

A team led by researchers at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA report in Frontiers in Immunology that an amino acid called GABA, which is available over-the-counter in many countries, reduced disease severity, viral load in the lungs, and death rates in SARS-CoV-2-infected mice. This follows up on their previous finding that GABA consumption also protected mice from another lethal mouse coronavirus called MHV-1. In both cases, GABA treatment was effective when given just after infection or several days later near the peak of virus production. The protective effects of GABA against two different types of coronaviruses suggest that GABA may provide a generalizable therapy to help treat diseases induced by new SARS-CoV-2 variants and novel beta-coronaviruses. 

Their previous studies showed that GABA administration protected mice from developing severe disease after infection with a mouse coronavirus called MHV-1. To more stringently test the potential of GABA as a therapy for COVID-19, they studied transgenic mice that when infected with SARS-CoV-2 develop severe pneumonia with a high mortality rate. “If our observations of the protective effects of GABA therapy in SARS-CoV-2-infected mice are confirmed in clinical trials, GABA could provide an off-the-shelf treatment to help ameliorate infections with SARS-CoV-2 variants. GABA is inexpensive and stable at room temperature, which could make it widely and easily accessible, and especially beneficial in developing countries.”

The researchers said that GABA and GABA receptors are most often thought of as a major neurotransmitter system in the brain. Years ago, they, as well as other researchers, found that cells of the immune system also possessed GABA receptors and that the activation of these receptors inhibited the inflammatory actions of immune cells. Taking advantage of this property, the authors reported in a series of studies that GABA administration inhibited autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis in mouse models of these ailments.

Other scientists who study gas anesthetics have found that lung epithelial cells also possess GABA receptors and that drugs that activate these receptors could limit lung injuries and inflammation in the lung. The dual actions of GABA in inflammatory immune cells and lung epithelial cells, along with its safety for clinical use, made GABA a theoretically appealing candidate for limiting the overreactive immune responses and lung damage due to coronavirus infection.

Working with colleagues at the University of Southern California, the UCLA research team in this study administered GABA to the mice just after infection with SARS-CoV-2, or two days later when the virus levels are near their peak in the mouse lungs. While the vast majority of untreated mice did not survive this infection, those given GABA just after infection, or two days later, had less illness severity and a lower mortality rate over the course of the study. Treated mice also displayed reduced levels of virus in their lungs and changes in circulating immune signaling molecules, known as cytokines and chemokines, toward patterns that were associated with better outcomes in COVID-19 patients. Thus, GABA receptor activation had multiple beneficial effects in this mouse model that are also desirable for the treatment of COVID-19.

Yoga as effective as traditional pulmonary rehab in patients with COPD 

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (India), October 19, 2022

Researchers from the Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Sleep Disorders and All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India, studied the effects of yoga as a form of pulmonary rehabilitation on markers of inflammation in the body. Results from this study showed yoga exercises provide improvements that are just as effective as traditional pulmonary rehabilitation methods in improving pulmonary function, exercise capacity, and indices of systemic inflammation.

Sixty patients with COPD were randomly divided into two groups, one of which was taught yoga exercises while the other underwent a structured pulmonary rehabilitation program. These groups were tested on shortness of breath, serum inflammation, and lung function tests. Each group participated in 1 hour of training twice a week for the first 4 weeks, then training every 2 weeks for 8 weeks, and the remaining weeks were at home. Results showed that yoga and pulmonary rehabilitation exercises resulted in similar improvements in pulmonary function, 6-minute walk distance, Borg scale, severity of dyspnea, quality of life, and levels of C-reactive protein after 12 weeks of training.

“This study suggests yoga may be a cost-effective form of rehabilitation that is more convenient for patients,” said Mark J. Rosen, MD, Master FCCP, CHEST Medical Director. “The authors recommended adoption of yoga programs as an option as part of long-term management of COPD. These findings should be confirmed in new studies and the potential mechanisms explored.” 

Resveratrol can help correct hormone imbalance in women with PCOS

University of California, San Diego, October 19, 2022

Resveratrol–a natural compound found in red wine and grapes–can help address a hormone imbalance in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a leading cause of infertility in women, according to a  study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Women who have PCOS produce slightly higher amounts of testosterone and other androgen hormones than average. Although these reproductive hormones are typically associated with men, women also have small amounts. The elevated levels in women with PCOS can contribute to irregular or absent menstrual periods, infertility, weight gain, acne or excess hair on the face and body. Women who have PCOS also face a higher risk of developing other health problems, such as diabetes.

“Our study is the first clinical trial to find resveratrol significantly lowers PCOS patients’ levels of testosterone as well as dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), another hormone that the body can convert into testosterone,” said the study’s senior author, Antoni J. Duleba, MD, of the University of California, San Diego in La Jolla, CA. “This nutritional supplement can help moderate the hormone imbalance that is one of the central features of PCOS.”

Thirty women with PCOS completed the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted at Poznan University of Medical Sciences in Poland. The women were randomly assigned to either take a resveratrol supplement or a placebo pill daily for three months. The participants had blood samples drawn at the beginning and end of the study to determine levels of testosterone and other androgen hormones. 

The researchers found total testosterone levels fell by 23.1 percent among the women who received the resveratrol supplement. In comparison, testosterone levels increased 2.9 percent in the placebo group. DHEAS declined by 22.2 percent in the resveratrol group, while the placebo group experienced a 10.5 percent increase in DHEAS levels.

In addition to moderating androgen hormones, the women who received resveratrol showed improvement in diabetes risk factors. Among the resveratrol group, fasting insulin levels dropped by 31.8 percent during the three-month study. The researchers also found the women who received resveratrol during the study became more responsive to the hormone insulin over the course of the study.

Fluoridated water calcifies your arteries: study

University of Zaragoza (Spain), October 22, 2014

 A major promoter of heart disease in the U.S. today could be a chemical that the government has been intentionally dumping into the water supply for decades on the premise that it prevents tooth decay. Fluoride, according to a study published in the journal Toxicology, shows demonstrated cardiotoxic effects, which include the calcification and hardening of arteries.

Researchers from the University of Zaragoza in Spain looked at the effects of water fluoridation on the progression of vascular calcification in renal (kidney) disease. The team used real-world concentrations of fluoride as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for optimal oral health — 1.5 milligrams per liter (mg/L) — administering this amount to rats via water in the same way humans would receive it.

It was observed that, for five days, the rats, all of whom had experimental chronic kidney disease (CKD), experienced calcification of their aortic smooth muscle cells. The rats also experienced further declines in renal function as a result of exposure to fluoride, demonstrating the nephrotoxicity of this common water additive.

“[F]luoridation of drinking water… dramatically increased the incipient aortic calcification observed in rats with experimental chronic kidney disease,” wrote the authors. “[T]he WHO’s recommended concentrations in drinking water become nephrotoxic to CKD rats, thereby aggravating renal disease and making media vascular calcification significant.”

Previous research, as noted in the new study, has confirmed that 90 percent or more of digested fluoride is absorbed through the intestines and distributed throughout the body to soft tissues, calcified structures and blood plasma. At WHO-recommended doses, fluoride can still get lodged throughout the body and remain there for many years.

In healthy individuals, plasma fluoride is cleared through the dual action of calcifying tissues and expelling through the kidneys. But in those with renal disease, the kidneys are not up to the task of removing fluoride from the body, greatly amplifying both the calcification process and the advancement of renal failure.

Lower magnesium levels linked with increased mortality risk during up to 40 years of follow-up

Jiao Tong University School of Medicine  (China), October 20 2022.

 In an article in the journal Clinical Nutrition, Xi Zhang of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and colleagues reported an association between decreased serum levels of magnesium and a greater risk of dying from any cause during a follow-up period of up to 40 years.

The study included data from 14,343 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I Epidemiologic Follow-Up Study. 

There were 9,012 deaths during a median follow-up of 28.6 years. In comparison with subjects whose serum magnesium levels were between 0.8 and 0.89 micromoles per liter (mmol/L), having a deficient level of less than 0.7 mmol/L was associated with an adjusted 34% greater risk of dying over follow-up. Those with magnesium levels of less than 0.7 mmol/L had more than two and a half times the risk of dying from stroke than subjects with magnesium levels of 0.8-0.89 mmol/L. Further analysis found the strongest protective association for magnesium in men.

“Several mechanisms may explain the beneficial effects of magnesium, including maintaining glucose and insulin homeostasis, improving lipid metabolism, enhancing the vascular or myocardial contractility and vasodilation, and providing antiarrhythmic and antiplatelet effects,” the authors write. “Moreover, several small secondary prevention randomized trials have shown that oral magnesium supplementation improved endothelial function, reduced thrombosis, and increased cardiopulmonary function and left ventricular ejection fraction among cardiovascular disease patients.”

“Our findings support the hypothesis that serum magnesium may be clinically useful for predicting long-term health outcomes and mortality in the general population,” they conclude.

Anxiety Makes It Harder to Listen to Your Intuition

Freie Universität Berlin, Psychologische Hochschule Berlin, University of Basel,  October 19, 2022

As an anxious person, I find the mantra “go with your gut” endlessly frustrating. What’s so trustworthy about my gut instinct, which has, at various times, convinced me I’m dying of brain cancer, or about to get on an airplane doomed to crash, or destined to be alone forever? My therapist has had to remind me many times over that my so-called instincts have been wrong before and will be wrong again. But I’ve remained somewhat convinced that there is a “real” gut instinct somewhere beneath all my fake ones, and if only I knew how to access it, I would finally be perfectly wise, centered, and calm.

A new study suggests this is probably not the case. In their study, researchers attempted to examine and compare the intuitive decision-making abilities of anxious, neutral, and optimistic people. More than a hundred participants were randomly assigned to each of these three groups, and “inducted” into the corresponding mood by viewing a series of emotionally coded sentences and images. For example, participants in the optimism group read: “The affection of those we love makes us feel particularly safe and confident. There is always someone who loves us,” and were then shown a picture of a smiling young couple with a shark mascot. (Huh.) Those in the anxious group read: “Safety is not guaranteed neither in our neighborhoods nor in our own homes,” followed by a picture of a man with his arm hooked around a woman’s neck. I’m anxious just reading about it.

Once the mood was set, participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire designed to assess their tendency to make intuitive decisions, and how effectively they did so. While the researchers found that the decision-making abilities of the positive and the neutral mood groups were relatively unaffected by their moods, the anxious group showed a significantly reduced ability to use their intuition. 

The researchers hypothesized that anxiety’s effects on our decision-making is damaging for several reasons: Anxiety makes us risk-averse, pessimistic, and less confident — all qualities which make us likelier to choose what we perceive as the most safe, routine, and unchallenging decision.

In some cases, anxiety can also effectively paralyze us, resulting in no decision made at all. Using one’s intuition, the researchers argue, requires confidence and trust in oneself. If anxious people don’t have that confidence and trust, they may be more likely to ignore subtle emotional or bodily cues which indicate a “hunch.” BFor many anxious people, the psychosomatic symptom possibilities are endless, and only infrequently indicate that something is actually wrong. In many cases, it’s wiser for us to ignore these “signs” and symptoms than to take them seriously.