combination of guanfacine and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an anti-oxidant also used for the treatment of TBI. The combined therapy, they found, was successful in relieving brain fog for their small cohort of patients.

Kacena diverted her work to SARS-CoV-2 after several studies from across the country revealed that those dying from the coronavirus had high numbers of megakaryocytes built up in various organs, which causes significant issues.

Megakaryocytes are among Kacena’s areas of expertise; she studies their relation to bone regeneration and fracture healing.

The Kacena Lab began using transgenic mouse models to further study the coronavirus and its relation to megakaryocytes and bone health. It was the first lab in Indiana and only one of a handful of labs in the United States to start conducting coronavirus-related experiments at this level.

Megakaryocytes are large bone marrow cells that produce platelets needed for blood clotting. The autopsies of those who died from COVID-19 have revealed significant megakaryocyte build-ups in the heart, lungs and brain. The lab’s goal was to discover whether regulating megakaryocytes could change the severity of COVID-19 and decrease its morbidity and mortality.

The reason that starvation in utero is associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes in later life is that the fetus prepares for its likely adult environment which is not encountered (thrifty phenotype). These epigenetic changes are due to increased gene activity and expression rather than by starvation induced changes in the DNA sequence.5

Therefore, after 33 years, I believe it is time to reinterpret Crawford’s data and conclude that the large increases in death from diabetes during nineteenth century in Ireland was due to the in utero effects of starvation during the Irish Potato Famine and not due to increases in the intake of fat and sugar.

Autism researchers are ableist.

Fortune ran a good summary of this story, explaining how normal brains “get rid of a certain amount of inactive synapses…but the infected mini brains showed unnecessarily and inordinate levels of the clean-up process, similar to the level seen in neurological disorders like schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease.” In other words, your brain starts killing off those internet connections that help your brain cells communicate. That’s why a third of people who get Covid wind up having problems thinking and concentrating later.

Key takeaway: Covid eats your brain.

Recent research clarified that mast cells are controlled by their internal clock—which is regulated by a specific set of clock genes—as well as external factors such as light sensed by the suprachiasmatic nuclei, hormonal status, or diet.

More infections = higher risk of problems

Before the pandemic, AMI-associated mortality rates decreased across all subgroups. These trends reversed during the pandemic, with significant rises seen for the youngest-aged females and males even through the most recent period of the Omicron surge (10/2021–3/2022). The SAPC in the youngest and middle-age group in AMI-associated mortality increased by 5.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.6%–9.1%) and 3.4% (95% CI: 0.1%–6.8%), respectively. The excess death, defined as the difference between the observed and the predicted mortality rates, was most pronounced for the youngest (25–44 years) aged decedents, ranging from 23% to 34% for the youngest compared to 13%–18% for the oldest age groups. The trend of mortality suggests that age and sex disparities have persisted even through the recent Omicron surge, with excess AMI-associated mortality being most pronounced in younger-aged adults.