Cut sugar to save lives, researchers urge [The Harvard Gazette, August 2021]

Title:

Cut sugar to save lives, researchers urge

 

Author:

Mathilde Langevin

 

Published:

The Harvard Gazette, 27 August 2021

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/08/study-reducing-sugar-in-packaged-foods-could-reduce-disease/

 

From the article:

Cutting 20 percent of sugar from packaged foods and 40 percent from beverages could prevent 2.48 million cardiovascular disease events (such as strokes, heart attacks, cardiac arrests), 490,000 cardiovascular deaths, and 750,000 diabetes cases in the U.S. over the lifetime of the adult population, reports a study published in Circulation.  

 

Fact check: COVID-19 vaccine not associated with neurodegenerative disease [USAToday, 4 April 2021]

Title:

Fact check: COVID-19 vaccine not associated with neurodegenerative disease

 

Author:

Miriam Fauzia

 

Published:

USAToday (via Yahoo!), 4 April 2021

https://autos.yahoo.com/fact-check-covid-19-vaccine-025540856.html

From the article: 

* The claim: COVID-19 vaccines are associated with prion disease 

 

* With the COVID-19 vaccine rollout advancing at about 2.77 million average doses administered a day – a steady increase since vaccinations began in late December – a supposed research paper is rousing fear about the vaccine's safety on social media.

 

* The source behind Cox's bold claim is a paper titled "COVID-19 RNA Based Vaccines and the Risk of Prion Disease," written by J. Bart Classen.

 

* Contrary to Classen's claim, there is no evidence to suggest the COVID-19 vaccines can cause prion diseases or other neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.

COVID-19 RNA Based Vaccines and the Risk of Prion Disease (by J. Bart Classen) - [Scholarly Article - Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, 2021]

Title:

COVID-19 RNA based vaccines and the riks of prion disease

 

Author:

J. Bart Classen, MD

Classen Immunotherapies, inc, Manchester

 

Published:

Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, 5(1), pp. 1-3 (Received: 27 December 2020; Accepted: 18 January 2021) 

https://scivisionpub.com/pdfs/covid19-rna-based-vaccines-and-the-risk-of-prion-disease-1503.pdf

Abstract:

Development of new vaccine technology has been plagued with problems in the past. The current RNA based SARSCoV-2 vaccines were approved in the US using an emergency order without extensive long term safety testing. In this paper the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was evaluated for the potential to induce prion-based disease in vaccine recipients. The RNA sequence of the vaccine as well as the spike protein target interaction were analyzed for the potential to convert intracellular RNA binding proteins TAR DNA binding protein (TDP-43) and Fused in Sarcoma (FUS) into their pathologic prion conformations. The results indicate that the vaccine RNA has specific sequences that may induce TDP-43 and FUS to fold into their pathologic prion confirmations. In the current analysis a total of sixteen UG tandem repeats (ΨGΨG) were identified and additional UG (ΨG) rich sequences were identified. Two GGΨA sequences were found. Potential G Quadruplex sequences are possibly present but a more sophisticated computer program is needed to verify these. Furthermore, the spike protein, created by the translation of the vaccine RNA, binds angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a zinc containing enzyme. This interaction has the potential to increase intracellular zinc. Zinc ions have been shown to cause the transformation of TDP-43 to its pathologic prion configuration. The folding of TDP-43 and FUS into their pathologic prion confirmations is known to cause ALS, front temporal lobar degeneration, Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological degenerative diseases. The enclosed finding as well as additional potential risks leads the author to believe that regulatory approval of the RNA based vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 was premature and that the vaccine may cause much more harm than benefit. 

MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, UK - Sugar leads to early death, but not due to obesity

Title:
Sugar leads to early death, but not due to obesity

By:
MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, UK

Published:
Medical Xpress, 19 March 2020

From the article:
"Sugar-rich diets have a negative impact on health independent of obesity reports a new study led by the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, UK."

To read this article:
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-03-sugar-early-death-due-obesity.html

For more information, see scholarly article:
Van Dam, E. [et al.]. (19 March 2020). Sugar-Induced Obesity and Insulin Resistance Are Uncoupled from Shortened Survival in Drosophila. Cell Metabolism. DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2020.02.016