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West Nile

May 31, 2005 08:34 PM

The West Nile disease is one of those cross-over diseases that happen when humans move into new territory and encounter new pathogens. Or, the pathogens move in on us. In this modern world, travel is so fast that a person can be infected in Egypt and be in New York in hours. When travel was slower, the infected person might not survive the trip.

So, now we have the Associated Press trying to rev up concern for West Nile virus. This is not wholly unjustified, as it is pretty virulent at this early stage of cross-over from a host that is accommodated to the virus (apparently mosquitos and birds) to a new and unprepared host --- us. But, their story line is wholly misleading because it confuses long-distance cycling with super health.

Here is the lead-in to the story (The Spectrum, May 31, 2005): "Patricia Heller was super-healthy, an avid skier and competitive bicyclist. So when she collapsed in the street after a day-long bike ride, she first shrugged off the weakness as cramps.

By the next morning, Heller's left leg was completely paralyzed. It was West Nile virus, from a mosquito bite the Colorado woman doesn't even remember...."

I was first struck by how the AP took competitive bicycling to be an indicator of super health. It is not. Competitive bicyclists often have compromised immunity. If you have read any of Dr. Demopoulos' literature on glutathione, you will know that excessive aerobic exercise depletes glutathione (GSH) which degrades the immune system. This is a key pathway, but there are other pathways to degraded immunity from long aerobic exercise.

Note that Patricia Heller had spent the entire day out in the sun on a bike ride in Colorado. Sun depletes GSH and so does the long duration ride. In addition, she likely consumed carbohydrate heavy drinks, snacks and meals on the ride, like nearly all bicyclists do. These too deplete GSH because the carbs and elevated blood sugar promote free radicals which deplete GSH. The ride relied on her aerobic energy system, a potent generator of free radicals or reactive oxygen species.

She wasn't super healthy. Long bike rides don't prove you are healthy, they show that you are accommodated to riding through conditioning. Yet, you may be unhealthy because of the ROS load your body is under from excessive aerobic exercise and ROS-generating high carbohydrate drinks and snacks.

I suppose the AP had in mind that if someone they say is super-healthy was badly harmed by West Nile, then those of you who don't bike or ski should worry. Actually, you may be safer if you don't bicycle and if you stay away from wooded areas where the mosquito is likely to be found. At this time of year and following the snow melt, mosquitos are near their peak in mountainous areas. Nothing breeds mosquitoes like snow-melt meadows.

· Evolutionary Fitness

Comments

Posted by: Flower Online [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 12, 2006 5:40 AM

I have to agree with Simon.

I would also add that Rand created fictional worlds that Fritz Lang or Robert Heinlein would have been proud of. The characters she created were no more realistic or practical archetypes for living than the fantasy world she imagined for them.

Posted by: Robert Cooney at June 2, 2005 10:57 PM

Barry ( and sorry to the Prof for responding to a q for him but i couldn't stop myself )
If you haven't read Gazzanigas ( and Rog 'Nobel' Sperry afore he shuffled off) work on the inherent self deception of the brain and Trivers work on evolved self deception etc you might afterwards, look at Rands saying a little differently.
I would wager my life that if you put Rand,Lenin,Mao, Hitler,Pol Pot, Stalin et al in a room they would all be absolutely convinced of their moral rectitude.
So the people who are thus convinced that they are superior in their perception of the human condition can be, not necessarily are, very dangerous folk;
Esp when their beliefs become manifest.. and doubly so if you happen to disagree with that manifestation.

Regards

Posted by: simon fellows at June 2, 2005 5:30 PM

Dear Professor Art
I"ve also questioned reporters myself.
Good point on graduate school.
What do you think of Ayn Rand?
I'm not an Ayn Rand freak,but she did help me growing up with my critical thinking skills.
One of her quotes that I liked was'I feel like an
adult doomed to live in a world of children."
Sincerely
Barry

Posted by: barrybocchieri at June 2, 2005 9:59 AM

It would make a lot of sense for joggers and other aerobicizers to protect themselves from the heavy free radical load their chosen activity exposes them to. The mitochondria, the organelles of the cells that produce ATP through aerobic metabolism, are furious free radical generators. The high carbohydrate foods and drinks they tend to consume also contribute to the free radical load. Mitochondrial insufficiency is a big factor in aging.

I am going to put up something on anaerobic and aerobic metabolism one of these days.

Posted by: Arthur De Vany at June 2, 2005 9:10 AM

I figured you didn't, just helping you hone your arguments.

One could get the idea from your recent articles (they just happen to be next to each other) that the cyclist would be perfectly healthy with GSH supplementation, but I believe the jogging-is-bad point is more important to you.

Posted by: Terry at June 1, 2005 9:56 PM

Yes. The AP is a piece of work. Their financial reporting is at least as bad as their health and Iraq reporting. It really belongs on the funny pages.

What a poor organization it is and how poorly are journalists educated. I sometimes think that graduate school is necessary just to have people so wholly invested in their discipline that they start to understand and apply it. Then again, how are journalists educated?

Of the few things I agree with said by George Bernard Shaw, an example of the elitist, group think British intellectuals who abandoned the great tradition of science of the British, is this: A reporter is someone who doesn't know the difference between a traffic accident and the end of the world.

Posted by: Arthur De Vany at June 1, 2005 5:57 PM

Terry:

I don't have to take any thing to be healthy. But, given today's food there are some nutrients one should consider.

Another point: if proven new technology is available I am inclined to use it.

Posted by: Arthur De Vany at June 1, 2005 5:49 PM

See paragraoh 6 of the piece, "reactive oxygen species."

Posted by: Rick Strong at June 1, 2005 4:02 PM

...but the author also has to take GSH to stay healthy. How low do we have to go on the activity scale to stay healthy?

Posted by: Terry at June 1, 2005 3:05 PM

The AP asserting a falsehood? Surely not!

I guess I missed something along the way. What is ROS again?

Posted by: Fugate at June 1, 2005 6:06 AM

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