4 ms·

Crazy - I never actually took a step back and wondered if we could boost our defense as a strategy. In a geeky way, we keep drinking health potions to recover

Crazy - I never actually took a step back and wondered if we could boost our defense as a strategy. In a geeky way, we keep drinking health potions to recover HP but if we had a shit ton of armor then we wouldn't need the HP potions to begin with. :)

dogma1138 10y ago
This is called immunotherapy and it is not mutually exclusive, and it is being worked on to treat certain diseases. However it's not nearly as simple as you might think and many immunomodulatory drugs have considerably worse side effects. Immunomodulatory drugs to some extent "predate" modern antibiotics before the antibiotic boom and the advancement in modern wide spectrum antibiotics immunomodulatory drugs were commonly used to treat severe infections. The side effects of these drugs are very very severe, can be fatal, and can cause hereditary malformations Thalidomide is probably the most famous case of a "wonder drug" going very very wrong it is still used today in extreme cases of leprosy and to treat some cancers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide But just to be clear these type of treatments are just as "designer" molecules as any other drug, there are no magic fixes in medicine you find the most effective vectors to attack a disease and you use them. But overall >Crazy - I never actually took a step back and wondered if we could boost our defense as a strategy. This is a bit silly, we have had vaccines before we had antibiotics :) we wash our hands, keep ourselves clean, dress wounds etc. these are all "defense boosting" strategies, and they both predate and coexist with "offensive" treatments.
Fomite 10y ago
An upregulated immune system is often the cause of autoimmune disorders, and is an inflammatory state (with health impacts as well). "Boosting our defense" is not a zero-risk strategy.
steve-howard 10y ago
On the other hand, "Immune Boosting†" products are rampant and they get to make all kinds of unsubstantiated claims about their capacity to Boost the Immune System so long as they either claim to be homeopathic or market themselves as supplements and include the boilerplate disclaimer that never seems to harm sales: †These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

dogma1138 10y ago

This is called immunotherapy and it is not mutually exclusive, and it is being worked on to treat certain diseases. However it's not nearly as simple as you might think and many immunomodulatory drugs have considerably worse side effects. Immunomodulatory drugs to some extent "predate" modern antibiotics before the antibiotic boom and the advancement in modern wide spectrum antibiotics immunomodulatory drugs were commonly used to treat severe infections. The side effects of these drugs are very very severe, can be fatal, and can cause hereditary malformations Thalidomide is probably the most famous case of a "wonder drug" going very very wrong it is still used today in extreme cases of leprosy and to treat some cancers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide But just to be clear these type of treatments are just as "designer" molecules as any other drug, there are no magic fixes in medicine you find the most effective vectors to attack a disease and you use them. But overall >Crazy - I never actually took a step back and wondered if we could boost our defense as a strategy. This is a bit silly, we have had vaccines before we had antibiotics :) we wash our hands, keep ourselves clean, dress wounds etc. these are all "defense boosting" strategies, and they both predate and coexist with "offensive" treatments.

Fomite 10y ago

An upregulated immune system is often the cause of autoimmune disorders, and is an inflammatory state (with health impacts as well). "Boosting our defense" is not a zero-risk strategy.

steve-howard 10y ago

On the other hand, "Immune Boosting†" products are rampant and they get to make all kinds of unsubstantiated claims about their capacity to Boost the Immune System so long as they either claim to be homeopathic or market themselves as supplements and include the boilerplate disclaimer that never seems to harm sales: †These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.