What's the scoop on the flu?

Every year, the influenza virus reinvents itself. In the countryside and farms of Southeast Asia, this bad actor mixes up genetic material with its viral cousins, producing brand new strains that then spread throughout the world in the throats and lungs of international travelers. And every year in turn, epidemiologists try to anticipate the new flu variants in order to produce an effective vaccine in time for the next flu season.

But now, as all of you know, the pesky pathogen has performed a new sort of quick change trick. This latest viral transformation apparently occurred in the pig farms of Mexico, and the resultant strain strings together genetic material from human, swine, and avian sources into a novel hybrid to which none of us are immune. This 'swine flu' has produced serious illness in its country of origin, and now the whole world watches in nervous anticipation as it continues its spread.

Let's get the good news out right up front. First of all, flu is seasonal, and the season here is nearly over. While this new strain of flu may resurface next winter, its current run could well be brief. And scientists will have time to develop an effective vaccine before its next world tour. Secondly, the cases thus far identified in the US and abroad have generally been mild and self-limited.

And finally, this swine flu is sensitive to two standard anti-virals--Tamiflu and Relenza. Remember, however, that not only can influenza pull off genetic mixology to produce an entire new strain, it also can acquire the genes for immunity to these drugs. If enough of us twitch and take Tamiflu at the first sign of any viral illness, be it flu, croup, or the common cold, this acquired resistance will be a sure thing. So don't call your doctor for a 'just in case' prescription; Adele and I will say "NO!"

The flu is highly contagious; it's effectively spread by tiny respiratory droplets which remain suspended in air and settled on surfaces for some time after an unrestrained sneeze or cough. Good prevention practices include:

• Cough or sneeze into your sleeve. Using your hands or a tissue to contain your explosion just makes more objects infectious.
• Better yet, stay home with your secretions when ill, and don't expect affected employees or co-workers to crawl on in to work when they are unwell.
• Wash your hands frequently, and don't touch your face or handle food after touching shared surfaces until you've washed up.
• Practice good health habits to enhance your overall immunity and resistance.
• Ask your doctor to check your vitamin D levels, and then discuss supplements with her/him to bring yours up to the ideal range. Influenza is increasingly considered a vitamin D deficiency disease!

For an amusing look at keeping your mucous to yourself, check out this video.

Of linens and proteins...*

And stressful situations in closets and cells.

I've mentioned before that I suffer a weensy bit from disposophobia or the inability to part ways with stuff. Old towels are no exception. My linen closet bulged (past tense due to recent reform efforts) with tattered towels and sheets too short for current mattresses. As I dug deeper in search of bath accessories with the most residual fluff, the rifled remaining towels took up more and more space, threatening the hinges on the closet doors. I desperately needed an unfolded towel response (UTR).

Enter the towel-like equivalent of body clutter, namely unfolded proteins. Not only do your cells need to string the appropriate sequence of amino acids together to form proteins, but they also must pull a little proteinaceous origami trick to get them into the right spatial configuration for proper functioning. Unfolded proteins are the bane of an aging cell's existence--witness all that rumpled beta-amyloid protein that gums up old neurons in Alzheimer's disease.

Hurrah for evolution! Enter the unfolded protein response (UPR), nature's way of sensing a haphazard pile of proteins on the cellular floor. And if the UPR can't straighten up the protein closet--wadded proteins stacking ever higher--then the UPR just makes some sort of nasty enzyme that explodes that cell and its proteiny mess right then and there.

Alas, as Dr. Dale Bredesen of the Buck Institute for Age Research points out, the UPR is no different than a lot of other body responses to dysequilibrium: "The initial response is protective, but the late response is destructive." He and other neurobiologists are hoping to unlock the secrets of UPR in order to keep this organizing principle on our side.
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*Check out Menopause Moments for a review of a book with one theory how misfolded proteins may be the infectious basis for Alzheimer's Disease.

"The Power of Two"

After my mother's craniotomy for a subdural hematoma several years ago, she made rapid progress and was transferred to the rehab unit. Unfortunately, shortly after playing several hands of bridge with visiting friends, she developed a fever and chills and was diagnosed with c. diff sepsis.

The hospitalist came right over, started IV fluids and antibiotics, and breezed on out. My friend Brenda, the unit's only RN, and I looked at one another.

"Are you okay with her staying here?" I asked.

"It's just me and 20 patients," she replied. "I don't think I have time to give her the care that she'll need."

Fortunately, I caught up with the doctor, and he agreed to transfer Mom to the ICU. A good thing too as bacterial sepsis is not a rehab floor matter. I wondered what would've happened if I hadn't been there at the time. And I wondered that again several days later when the specialist missed the fact that Mom was going in and out of atrial fibrillation on the ICU monitor. And I marveled how anyone survives a hospitalization without an advocate on hand.

We are fortunate, therefore, that Brian and Gerri Monaghan have written a moving account of their own journey through life-threatening illness and advocacy, "The Power of Two". Not only is this book a compelling, entertaining, and (at times) tear-jerking account of love and loyalty in sickness and in health, it is a step-by-step, tip-by-tip, how-to manual for all of us who will face a serious illness or care for someone in that situation. And, through my life roles as doctor, wife, daughter, mother, and friend, I can tell you that will absolutely be all of us.

I'd like to say that I'm going to keep this book on my shelf for my next advocacy adventure, but I plan to give it away to a friend who was diagnosed last week with cancer. With the Monaghans on their team, and this guidebook in hand, she and her family will be able to stand up and advocate for what they need.

In praise of Dr. Anthony Laporta

My friend/patient did not look well. She came in on Friday of last week looking gray and tearful, still battling the abdominal pain that she'd called me about the previous week. Not only was she 7 pounds lighter than her usual weight, she had scary lymph nodes on the side of her neck.

One of those moments when I puzzle over what to do with my face as I launch into Dr. Scheduler, working to get her a CT scan and an appointment with a general surgeon for a biopsy. All ASAP! Within two hours, both appointments were made for the beginning of this week.

So here it is Tuesday p.m., and I've just gotten off the phone with Dr. Anthony Laporta whom I've never met and never spoken to before yesterday. My friend and I agree that this fellow is the best. He was on his cell phone, the sounds of his son's lacrosse game in the background. He had the the CT results to me within 2 hours of the Monday's scan. Post-op, per him: "I walked down to the lab to have a look at the slides from the biopsy." No unnecessary waiting for my pal--"My goal," per Laporta, "is to get things done as quickly as possible to minimize the time spent worrying about the unknown."

So tomorrow a.m., she will see the oncologist--on her way to an action plan within five days of her first appointment! I recommend Dr. Laporta with pleasure to all those facing the scary prospect of surgery.