Questions tagged [immune-system]
The group of cellular and molecular processes that the body uses to fight bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections. Autoimmune and inflammatory disease are caused by malfunctioning of this system and should also be tagged with the disease name.
209 questions
1
vote
1
answer
57
views
What makes "chickenpox parties" recommended?
Prior to the availability of the chickenpox vaccine in the mid-90s, I recall the prevailing medical recommendation was to expose children to the virus at "chickenpox parties" with other kids ...
- 111
1
vote
0
answers
34
views
How can we stop our immune system from producing a particular antibody? [closed]
I have always been fascinated with our immune system and, although it is not my specialization, I have been reading about it lately.
Auto immune diseases are particularly interesting because it seems ...
- 11
0
votes
3
answers
66
views
Why COVID-19 "immunogenicity may be 70%"?
The USA CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield was recently quoted in the media as saying:
"I might even go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against Covid than ...
1
vote
0
answers
29
views
Can IVIG treatment increase risk of infections?
Intravenous Immunoglobulins (IVIG) are often used to treat patients with impaired antibody production or autoimmune conditions[1]. However, according to this paper[2], it can also inhibit antibody ...
- 1,124
0
votes
0
answers
33
views
Studies On The Affect Of Immunotherapy On Larynx Surgeries
I've been searching online for a study regarding the affect of immunotherapy on the necessity for an affected individual diagnosed with laryngeal cancer to require larynx surgery, to no avail.
Could ...
2
votes
0
answers
43
views
Which HPV types are detectable by the immune system to remove it from body?
Some resources (like WHO) says that HPV can be cleared by the immune system as the following.
WHO
There are many types of HPV, and many do not cause problems. HPV infections usually clear up without ...
0
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Do antihistamines slow down the healing process of a bite/wound?
Taking antihistamines is common for relieving the itch sensation from a mosquito bite. This itching sensation is one of the side effects of histamine, which is produced as part of the immunological ...
- 101
1
vote
0
answers
77
views
Is inoculation against covid-19 an option?
Covid-19 can cause serious illness or death, and it can take survivors a very long time to recover, and even then it is unsure if recovery will be complete.
The policies put in place to curb the ...
- 149
4
votes
1
answer
109
views
Can this method of immunization for horses serve as a COVID-19 vaccine for humans?
A group of scientist developed Equine polyclonal antibodies (EpAbs) obtained after immunization of horses with the receptor-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 viral Spike glycoprotein.
https://ri....
0
votes
0
answers
24
views
How to measure how long does a vaccine last?
Recently I read someone arguing against pharmaceuticals saying COVID 19 vaccine immunity would last around a year. His argument was that how do they know that it's good for a year if a year has not ...
- 17
6
votes
1
answer
140
views
How long does it take for the COVID-19 antibody to disappear?
I saw a news article says; 90 days after the infection with ncov19, several patients had no detectable antibodies in their bloodstream. This seems to be one of their evidence that immunity against ...
- 485
2
votes
1
answer
555
views
Is it possible to remove HPV from the body by strengthening the immune system?
I saw some content which says HPV can be removed from the body by strengthening the immune system:
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/surv-manual/chpt05-hpv.html
Most HPV infections are transient and ...
1
vote
0
answers
23
views
Can SARS-CoV-2 possibly overcome herd immunity without mutation in densely populated countries and places? [closed]
Can the coronavirus that causes covid-19 possibly overcome herd immunity without mutation using immune individuals as hubs till it reaches vulnerable individuals in very densely populated countries ...
- 121
3
votes
1
answer
67
views
The relationship between the rate of decrease of antibody production and long term immunity
I am seeing a large number of COVID-19 articles which point to low levels of antibody production 2-3 months after infection. They all point to this being an indicator that infection may not provide ...
- 271
0
votes
0
answers
24
views
Bad but better-than-nothing vaccine
The first vaccines for viral diseases, such as smallpox, were a variety of live, attenuated or dead virus particles. They did not use adjuvants and they were not safe - but, the chance of ...
- 101
2
votes
1
answer
185
views
What makes a person asymptomatic? How does it work?
As someone who's simply asking out of curiosity, I've tried looking into the topic myself, but often times I run into answers with little or no detail on the subject. Sometimes the question is more ...
- 23
5
votes
0
answers
41
views
What are the effects of repeated sub-infective doses of coronavirus?
There are experimental records and clinical observations showing that exposure to sub-infective doses of some pathogens can result in enhanced immunity to infection when exposed to an infective dose ...
- 51
1
vote
1
answer
125
views
What is the long-term COVID-19 outlook?
Finding a cure for the common cold has long been an unattainable holy grail of medicine.
The common cold is caused by over 200 different strains of viruses (Common cold - Wikipedia).
The viruses ...
- 631
2
votes
1
answer
32
views
How come Anti-D administered to Rh-negative mothers doesn't cause sensitization to the Rh antigen
As I understand it, the anti-D will coat the fetal Rh+ RBCs, and since these have been marked by IgG, they will get phagocytosed among other things that will result in their destruction.
If the RBCs ...
- 155
6
votes
2
answers
5k
views
What is the Fatality Rate of the Common Cold? [closed]
During COVID-19, we've heard many comparisons between SARS-CoV-2 and the Flu, especially in terms of the case fatality rate (CFR). Currently, the Flu is thought to be around 0.1%, and according to the ...
- 171
2
votes
1
answer
131
views
False Positive PCR - COVID-19 and possible reinfection when antibodies value is +7.0
A friend of mine was detected COVID-19 positive through PCR one month back. He was asymptotic as per doctors and had no symptoms.
He quarantined himself and increased his intake of water.
After 1 ...
- 31
10
votes
2
answers
161
views
Are there diseases for which infection does not grant lasting immunity but a vaccine does?
There has been a lot of discussion about whether people who have COVID-19 and recover will have long-lasting immunity. At the same time, work is underway to create a vaccine for this disease. But if ...
- 621
3
votes
1
answer
51
views
What's the margin of error for the estimate on the percentage of people infected with latent tuberculosis?
According to a 2011 (news) article in Science
More than a third of the world's population is estimated to be infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Most people's immune system can keep the ...
2
votes
1
answer
27
views
MHC haplotypes and COVID-19 [closed]
Have there been any studies done looking at samples of MHC haplotypes in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2?
It would be interesting to see if certain HLA polymorphisms are associated with more ...
- 21
2
votes
2
answers
68
views
Has World Health Organization provided nutrition/diet/exercise guidelines to strengthen the human immune system for better responding to COVID-19?
Medical sciences is not my subject but my personal feeling is that:
A strengthen immune system can better respond to viruses than a weak immune system.
A balanced diet in combination with exercise ...
- 191
2
votes
0
answers
13
views
Does obesity predispose to less effective vaccine response in general?
From a (2019) review on host susceptibility to influenza A virus (IAV):
Obesity was identified as a risk factor for IAV infection over a decade ago and confirmed during the swine flu pandemic [30, 31]...
3
votes
2
answers
238
views
What does it mean to say a population has “low levels of general immunity”?
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Lisa Grande, is quoted in several places (e.g. this CBS news article as saying (emphasis mine):
[SARS-CoV-2] is now in Yemen and may quickly spread. […] ...
1
vote
1
answer
107
views
How does reducing the bacterial load enable your immune system to maintain a low enough level of remaining bacteria to avoid clinical symptoms?
Doesn't D.Tan's last para.
Personal thoughts: Antibiotics most likely never completely eradicate a bacterial population, but by bringing down the bacterial load, you enable your immune system to ...
user14
2
votes
3
answers
455
views
What is the minimal infectious dose (MID) of SARS-CoV-2?
Assuming the immune system is healthy,
How much SARS-CoV-2 virus (cause of COVID-19) is required to make a person sick?
This might also depend on time, if it was a high infectious dose but just some ...
- 574
1
vote
1
answer
38
views
Are there any other reasons than mutation that could cause a virus to be able to infect the same person twice?
If you are infected by a virus, and subsequently survive it and get completely rid of the infection, are there any other possible reasons for the same virus to be able to infect you again any time in ...
- 113
4
votes
1
answer
274
views
What would count as definitive proof that humans can develop COVID-19 immunity?
There are currently numerous debates over whether or not people who have recovered from COVID-19 develop immunity to the disease. By the standards of the the scientific community, what kind of proof ...
- 1,496
3
votes
1
answer
948
views
Does the blood removed from the body still have immunity?
I know that blood contains white blood cells (which attack pathogens). Suppose we take half a liter of blood out of the body and implant the virus into it. Can the white blood cells in that half a ...
3
votes
2
answers
165
views
How can Stockholm be close to herd immunity without having overwhelmed the healthcare system?
According to several sources, models estimate 20% of people in Stockholm are already immune to COVID-19 (2014-04-22). However, German virologists estimate (2020-04-19) that to reach herd immunity in ...
- 131
2
votes
1
answer
458
views
Do coronavirus antibodies give you any immunity?
According to Coronavirus antibodies may not make you immune, WHO warns
There is no evidence to suggest that recovered coronavirus patients and former asymptomatic carriers who have coronavirus ...
- 1,105
2
votes
1
answer
65
views
Why is Antibody-Drug Conjugate regarded as Immunotherapy?
Many immunotherapy papers introduce Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) as an emerging modality of immunotherapy, and the following is one example:
Marin-Acevedo, Julian A et al. “Cancer immunotherapy ...
- 121
2
votes
1
answer
65
views
Why is the immune response to RSV so short lived (and what else makes a vaccine for RSV difficult)?
From a Bio SE answer that doesn't delve into details on this (because it was a broad question on all "colds") one can't help but notice that RSV has the shortest antibody persistence listed in that ...
3
votes
3
answers
84
views
Is it possible for humans to be resistant to certain viral infections without having specific antibodies in their blood?
Popular understanding of how viruses work split immunity into four categories:
Virus doesn't affect humans at all
No immunity - will get worst possible infection, seems to be the case with COVID-19
...
- 1,496
0
votes
1
answer
71
views
If COVID-19 binds to GRP78 could a GRP78 dose inactivate the virus?
This research found that the COVID-19 spike protein binds to the cell surface receptor GRP78.
If we could inject a large amount of GRP78 into patients could it saturate the virus particles, and ...
- 145
3
votes
2
answers
119
views
Can you recover from COVID-19, and then be reinfected so as to be a danger to other people?
Assuming I've contracted COVID-19 this January and made a full recovery and the antibodies have already left my body again. Now, I come into contact with someone who is sick and I inhale some COVID-19 ...
- 133
6
votes
2
answers
162
views
Is there a virus from which humans can recover, but which doesn't grant long lasting immunity?
Prior to the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic I was under the impression that viruses fall into two categories:
Diseases from which you recover and afterwards become fully immune. When reinfected with a mutated ...
- 1,496
1
vote
0
answers
17
views
How does lifetime immunity work?
Why do we get a lifetime immunity against particular diseases like smallpox ?
Why don't we get immunity against all diseases we have already been through ?
- 111
3
votes
2
answers
56
views
Does exposure to less than the Minimum Infective Dose act as a vaccine in some cases?
I know that there's no immune response/adaptation of some (relatively) new viruses like HIV for which it's estimated that it would take at least 32,000 years for humans to develop a non-pathogenic ...
3
votes
2
answers
134
views
What is the point of herd immunity?
A few weeks ago the UK has been debating about herd immunity.
I understand that when most people are immune to a disease, then the disease is harder to spread. However, how are they going to ...
- 53
-2
votes
1
answer
70
views
What's the best time of year to purposely contract COVID? [closed]
Before the vaccine for German measles was available, girls were encouraged to expose themselves to a friend or acquaintance who had the disease, to acquire immunity, so that they would not end up ...
- 470
3
votes
1
answer
144
views
If I get COVID-19, can I get cured by myself?
Suppose I get infected by COVID-19.
I am a healthy person but with weight issues, according to the standard weight tables.
Can my immune system cure me by itself? That is, without the need of ...
- 574
3
votes
1
answer
72
views
Why do we need booster shots, for some viruses but not the others?
When being vaccinated we are given viruses that have been killed or made 'not working' in some other way. Then we get B and T cells that can 'kill' it.
For example, for polio, memory B and T cells ...
1
vote
0
answers
99
views
Is this explanation of coronavirus accurate?
I have seen the following post popping up on Facebook recently:
🧐🧐🧐
Feeling confused as to why Coronavirus is a bigger deal than Seasonal
flu? Here it is in a nutshell. I hope this ...
- 111
1
vote
1
answer
117
views
How would the tuberculosis vaccine (BCG) decrease severity of COVID-19?
Two academic hospitals in The Netherlands (Nijmegen and Utrecht) just got approval to experiment with using a tuberculosis vaccine (BCG) to try to better protect hospital workers against coronavirus.
...
- 1,059
3
votes
2
answers
202
views
Could an infinitesimal amount of Covid-19 be used to trigger immune response?
Could one be injected with an infinitesimal amount of Covid-19 viral particles, in a way that it would trigger an immune response long enough before the virus overran the body? Could it be injected ...
- 141
2
votes
1
answer
60
views
Is a patient who has an autoimmune disease immunocompromised?
If a patient has an autoimmune disease - Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, for example - and is not on immunosuppressants, are they at a higher, lower or equal risk of ending up with COVID-19 (or any other ...
- 874