Vaccines,
Depression and Neurodegeneration After
Age 50
By Russell L. Blaylock, M.D.,
It has been estimated that 14.8 million
Americans suffer from major depressive disorder and of this number 6 million
are elderly. If we include anxiety disorders, which commonly accompany
depression, the number jumps to 40 million adults. At a cost of $44 billon
dollars a year just for care of the seniors, this impacts the national budget
as well.
Depression later in life tends to last longer
and be more severe than at younger ages. It is also associated with a high rate
of suicide.
Previously, it was thought that major
depression was secondary to a deficiency in certain neurotransmitters in the
brain, particularly the monoamines, which include serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. While alterations
in these important mood-related neurotransmitters is found with major
depression, growing evidence indicates that the primary culprit is low-grade,
chronic brain inflammation.
In addition, we now know that inflammatory cytokines
can lower serotonin significantly and for long periods by a number of different
mechanisms.
MSG and Depression
Researchers have also discovered that most
people with major depressive disease (MDD) have higher levels of the
neurotransmitter glutamate in their spinal fluid (CSF) and blood plasma.
This is the same glutamate found as a food additive-for example, MSG
(monosodium glutamate), hydrolyzed proteins, calcium or sodium casienate, soy protein isolate, vegetable protein
concentrate or isolate, etc.
Much of the free glutamate in the brain of
depressed people comes from within, that is it escapes from special cells
within the brain itself (microglia and astrocytes). Free glutamate, that is,
existing outside the neurons, is very toxic to brain connections and
brain cells themselves -- mainly by a process called excitotoxicity.
This connection between high brain glutamate
levels and major depression was discovered quite by accident, when researchers
observed that the anesthetic drug ketamine could relieve
depression for a prolonged period. Ketamine is a
powerful blocking drug for a class of glutamate receptors (NMDA receptors).
For quite some time it was known that
depression could cause a loss of neurons in the hippocampus of the brain-the
area most important for recent memory (declarative memory or working memory),
the form of memory most affected in Alzheimer's disease.
This shrinkage of the brain usually occurred
with long-term depression, yet it was shown, using sophisticated testing, that
even without brain shrinkage, memory could be adversely affected. Some
antidepressants could not only reverse the memory loss but could reverse the
shrinkage as well.
The implication was that the elevated brain
glutamate, via excitotoxicity, was destroying brain connections
and later killing brain cells in the hippocampus and that the antidepressants
were lowering brain glutamate levels. Subsequent studies have confirmed that
drugs that block excitotoxicity also reduce
depression and that some antidepressants reduce brain glutamate levels.
The Link Between Elevated Brain
Glutamate and Inflammation
A tremendous amount of research has now
demonstrated the link between chronic low-level brain inflammation, elevated
brain glutamate levels and major depression. We know that as we age, the level
of inflammatory
immune cytokines increase (such as interleukin-1ß (IL-1), IL-6
and TNF-a). That is, the level of inflammation in our body increases, with high
levels being seen at the extremes of life -- the 80s and 90s.
This progressive elevation in the body's
inflammation increases our risk of a number of inflammation-linked diseases,
such as cancer, arthritis, muscle weakness, fatigue, sleep disturbances, memory
loss and confusion. People with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease have even
higher levels of these inflammatory cytokines -- much higher.
When inflammatory chemicals are elevated in
the brain it makes brain cells more vulnerable to a number of toxins, many of
which are in the environment. One study demonstrated,
using a series of sophisticated techniques, that if brain cells were exposed to
low levels of a pesticide there was little toxicity seen and that if you
exposed these same brain cells to an immune stimulant alone, little damage
occurred.
But if you first exposed the brain cells to
the immune stimulant, the same low dose of pesticide could destroy a great
number of brain cells.
The importance of this observation was that
the vaccine made the brain cells hypersensitive to the toxin so that even in
concentrations that normally would do not cause harm, could wiped out most of
the neurons. One of the strongest connections between an environmental toxin
(pesticides) and a neurological disorder is with Parkinson's disease.
The reason it is more common in the elderly is
that they have the highest levels of inflammatory cytokines. This also explains
the high incidence of Alzheimer's disease, which reaches
incidences of 50% after age 80.
The link to depression was also serendipitous
Doctors using immune cytokines to treat patients
with cancer or hepatitis found that one third of the patients developed major
depressive illness within days of the treatment and that it resolved only when
the treatment was terminated. Other studies, in which inflammatory cytokine
levels were measured in people with major depressive illness, also found most
had high levels of these inflammatory chemicals.
To their surprise, they found that many of the
antidepressant medications commonly used lowered inflammatory cytokines levels
and that patients who failed to respond had the highest level of the cytokines.
So, how is this linked to excitotoxicity?
Neuroscientists have known for some time that
inflammatory cytokines cause the brain to release higher levels of glutamate --
the more intense the inflammation, the higher the brain glutamate level. The
highest levels are found in the prefrontal lobes and limbic system, the areas most related to mood control. MSG also increases
brain inflammation.
Vaccination and Brain Inflammation
A great number of studies have shown that when
you vaccinate an animal, the body's inflammatory cytokines not only increase
dramatically, but so do the brain's inflammatory chemicals. The brain has its
own immune system that is intimately connected to the body's immune system. The
main immune cell in the brain is called a microglia.
Normally, these brain cells are lying throughout the brain in a resting state
(called ramified).
Once activated, they can move around,
traveling between brain cells like amoeba (called amoeboid microglia).
In the resting state, they release chemicals
that support the growth and protection of brain cells and their connections
(dendrites and synapses). But when activated, they secrete a number of very
harmful chemicals, including inflammatory cytokines, chemokines,
complement, free radicals, lipid peroxidation
products, and two excitotoxins -- glutamate and quinolinic acid.
In essence, these brain immune cells are out
to kill invaders, since the body's immune system sent an emergency message that
an invasion had occurred. With most infections, this phase of activation last
no more than a few days to two weeks, during which time the immune system
successfully kills off the invaders.
Once that is accomplished, the immune system
shuts down to allow things to cool off and the brain to repair what damage was
done by its own immune system.
What researchers knew was that during this
period of activation, people generally feel bad and that what they experience
closely resembles depression -- a condition called "sickness behavior". Most of us have experience this when suffering from a
viral illness -- such things as restlessness, irritability, a need to get away
from people, trouble sleeping, fatigue and difficulty thinking.
Studies have shown that there are two phases
to this "sickness behavior"; one in which we have the flu-like
symptoms and a later onset of depression-like symptoms that can last awhile.
They have also shown that all of these symptoms are due to high levels of
inflammatory cytokines in the brain, which come from activated microglia.
A number of studies have also shown that after
age 50, people have exaggerated and prolonged "sickness behavior",
much more so than younger people. This is one of the reasons why many elderly
hang onto flu symptoms for months after exposure.
There is also another immune phenomenon that
plays a major role in vaccine-related brain injury. Researchers discovered that
when you vaccinate an animal, the brain microglia
immune cells turn on partially (called priming), that is, they are in a state
of high readiness. If the immune system is activated again soon after (days,
weeks to months), these microglia explode into action
secreting levels of their destructive chemicals far higher than normal. This
overreaction can be very destructive and make you feel very depressed.
Stimulating your immune system with a vaccine
is far different than contracting an infectious illness naturally. Vaccines are
made of two components -- the agent you wish to vaccinate against -- for
example, the measles virus; and an immune system booster called an immune adjuvant.
These adjuvants are
composed of such things as aluminum compounds, MSG, lipid compounds and even
mercury. Their job is to make the immune system react as intensely as possible
and for as long as possible.
Studies have shown that these adjuvants, from a single vaccine, can cause immune overactivation for as long as two years. This means that
the brain microglia remain active as well,
continuously pouring out destructive chemicals. In fact, one study found that a
single injection of an immune activating substance could cause brain immune overactivation for over a year. This is very destructive.
Flu Vaccines and an Expanding Vaccine Schedule for the Elderly
Public health authorities and physician
societies are in an all out campaign to have every elderly person vaccinated
every year with the flu vaccine as well as a growing number of newer vaccines.
When I was practicing neurosurgery, the hospitals had an automatic written
order on all older patients' charts mandating a flu vaccine, unless it was
countermanded by the physician, which I always did.
Now, they are giving the shots in malls, tents
and every available site they can muster. And worse still,
using lies and scare tactics to frighten the elderly into getting the shots
(such as the bold lie that 36,000 elderly die of the flu every year).
As you age, your immune system, including that
special immune system in your brain, releases significantly more inflammatory
immune cytokines than when you were younger. This serves to prime the microglia, as discussed. So, when you get your first flu
shot your microglia overreact and does so for a very
long period -- perhaps years.
Many elderly report that the flu shot gave them the flu. Proponents of vaccines, retort with a condescending laugh; that it is
impossible because the flu vaccine contains killed flu viruses. In truth, what
these people are reporting is a prolonged, intense "sickness
behavior" response to the vaccine. To the body, it is worse than getting
the flu.
Remember, no one is recording the number of elderly who die after getting
the flu shot, especially if they die months later, which
can happen with sickness behavior, especially if they have a preexisting
chronic illness or are infirm.
The Shocking Truth
With the elderly already having increased
inflammatory cytokine levels both systemically and in their brain, stimulating
these primed microglia so that a chronic overstimulation of the brain's immune system is triggered,
will not only increase their risk of developing one of the neurodegenerative
diseases, but will also substantially increase their risk of developing major
depression. Remember, this also increases their risk of suicide, and even
homicide, dramatically.
Anxiety is a major problem with depression,
and vaccinations will greatly worsen the condition. In fact, vaccination,
especially multiple vaccinations, will maintain the brain in a state of
inflammation that will be self-perpetuating, because the excess release of
glutamate in the brain, as well as glutamate in the diet, will further enhance microglial activation and excitotoxicity.
Those who are prone to developing one of the
neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease
will be at a drastically increased risk as we have seen experimentally when
even animals exposed to subtoxic concentrations of
environmental toxins and vaccinated develop neurologic
worsening.
Most people use pesticides in their home, and
studies have shown that the concentrations in homes are sufficient to trigger
Parkinson's disease in susceptible people. Vaccinations, as these studies have
shown, will greatly increase that risk. Most doctors are completely unaware of
this important research.
You must keep in mind that "health authorities"
urge the elderly to get the flu vaccine each and every year. This will keep the
microglia in a primed and even activated state continuously. Recently, neurologists
announced that the incidence of neurodegenerative disease had been grossly
underestimated and that neurological diseases of aging were increasing at a
frightening rate. They have no explanation.
Over the last three decades the number of
elderly receiving yearly flu vaccines has risen from 20% before 1980 to over 60% today.
If this were not
depressing enough, now the public health authorities and medical specialty
societies are adding a whole new set of vaccines for those above 50 years of
age, including the pneumococcal and meningiococcal vaccines. What is being completely ignored by the promoters of these
vaccines is the effect of multiple doses of immune adjuvant that accompany each
of these vaccines.
Let's say you see your doctor and he talks you
into getting the flu vaccine, the pneumococcal and meningiococcal vaccine all during the same office visit.
That way, he can save you extra office visits. What your doctor ignores is that
he is giving you three doses of powerful immune adjuvant all in one sitting,
which means that your body and brain are assaulted by a massive dose of powerful
immune activators, which have been proven to activate the brain's immune system
to dangerous levels, even when given as a single dose.
Proof of this mechanism exists not only in
animal studies, but in humans as well.
Mercury and Aluminum
There are other ways that vaccines can cause
havoc in the brain. Most vaccines contain aluminum compounds. A multitude of
studies have shown that aluminum, especially if combined with fluoride, is a
powerful brain toxin and that it accumulates in the brain. With each vaccine
injection, a dose of aluminum is given. These yearly aluminum inoculations
accumulate not only at the site of the injection, but travel to the brain,
where it enters neurons and glial cells (astrocytes and microglia).
A number of studies have shown that aluminum
can activate microglia and do so for long periods.
This means that the aluminum in your vaccination is priming your microglia to overreact. The next vaccine acts to trigger
the enhanced inflammatory reaction and release of the excitotoxins,
glutamate and quinolinic acid.
You must also appreciate that any infection,
stroke, head injury or other toxin exposure will also magnify this inflammatory
brain reaction initially triggered by your vaccines. Studies have now indicated
that the more one's immune system is activated the more like he or she will
suffer from one of the neurodegenerative diseases.
Mercury is also a powerful activator of brain microglia and can do so in extremely low concentrations --
in nanomolar amounts. Because of its numerous reactions
with sulfhydral compounds in the body (which are
ubiquitous), mercury can poison a number of enzymes, both systemically and in
the brain. Of special concern is the ability of mercury, especially ethylmercury (the kind found in vaccines called thimerosal) to inhibit the regulation of brain glutamate levels. (It does
this by inhibiting the glutamate transfer proteins that control the removal of
glutamate from outside the neuron, where it does its harm.)
In essence, mercury, in the concentrations
being injected with vaccines, triggers excitotoxicity,
increases brain free radicals and lipid peroxidation
products, inhibits critical brain enzymes, inhibits antioxidant enzymes and
impairs
In addition, the aluminum in the vaccines also
primes microglia, and when combined with mercury is
infinitively more toxic to the brain. Now, if this is not enough, we also have
to consider the contamination of vaccines with foreign viruses and viral
components. Studies have shown that this is not a rare occurrence, with up to 60% of vaccines being contaminated in one study of several major
manufactured vaccines.
When confronted with this fact, vaccine
proponents just shrug their shoulders and say -- "We don't think these
things are harmful."
Yet, the studies say otherwise.
It has been found that insertion of viral fragments, not even the whole virus, is sufficient to trigger the brain's
microglial system and subsequent excitotoxicity,
leading to progressive brain degeneration. This is accepted to be the mechanism
by which the HIV virus causes dementia in a great number of AIDS victims.
Fragments of the virus (gp140 and Tat) are engulfed by the microglia
and this triggers chronic brain inflammation and excitotoxicity.
The herpes virus and measles virus can do the same thing.
Danger of Live Virus Vaccines
A number of studies have shown that live
viruses used in vaccines can enter the brain and reside there for a lifetime.
One such study, in which autopsied elderly were examined for the presence of
the measles virus, found that 20% of the brains had live measles viruses and
45% of other organs were infected. These viruses were highly mutated, meaning
that they could be just as potent as other measles viruses, but could be even
more virulent.
Worse, is that in most cases they cause a
smoldering destruction of tissues without the obvious symptoms of infection,
which has been shown in a number of studies.
Live virus vaccines are made using a process
to attenuate the pathogenic or disease-causing virus by passing it through a
series of cultures. The problem is that the reverse can also happen within the
body. A number of studies have shown that when we produce free radicals in our
body (and we produce tons of such radicals over a lifetime), it mutates the
viruses residing in our tissues. This is what was found in the autopsy study I
referred to above.
Likewise, these viruses can trigger brain
inflammation and degeneration, which has been shown in a number of studies --
that is, there exist a chronic degeneration of the brain over years or decades.
Because it is so far separated from the time of the original vaccine,
physicians just attribute it to old age or heredity. Anything
but the vaccines.
Virologists are also concerned that such
mutated live viruses can also infect other people, leading to outbreaks of
disease totally unsuspected by health authorities.
Conclusion
Current recommendations by the CDC for adult
vaccinations include a total of 14 separate inoculations with infectious agents
and powerful immune adjuvants. To be fair, some of
these are for special medical risks and conditions, such as high-risk
behaviors, illegal drug use and HIV infected individuals.
If we eliminate these, women will be exposed
to 10 inoculations and men 7, should they follow CDC guidelines, which doctors
follow.
According to CDC recommendations, multiple
vaccinations for a single disease are separated by no more than 4 weeks, which
is close enough together to produce priming and subsequent hyperactivation
of brain microglia. We have seen that this can
trigger a smoldering process of brain inflammation and excitotoxicity
that can not only result in depression, anxiety and high suicide rates, but can
increase one's risk of developing one of the neurodegenerative diseases as
well.
We have also seen that in many cases a person
will be injected with several vaccines during a single office visit and that
this means their body is exposed to a very large dose of immune adjuvant.
Compelling studies, using many animal species as well as humans, have shown
that this overactivates brain inflammatory mechanism
that can last for years.
In addition, several additives to vaccines,
such as mercury and aluminum, are powerful brain toxins that are known to
accumulate in the brain over years and can trigger brain inflammatory/excitotoxic mechanisms. Vaccine contaminants, such as
bacteria, mycoplasma and viral fragments can also
produce prolonged brain inflammation and neurodegeneration.
Because the elderly already have high levels
of inflammatory cytokines, they are at a special risk. The very young (babies
and small children) are at a high risk because their brains are undergoing the
most rapid development at the very time they receive the greatest number of
vaccinations -- the first two years of life. In fact, they receive 22 vaccines during the
first year of life, one of which contains a full pediatric dose
of mercury.
Like adults, they receive many inoculations
(up to 9 inoculations) in one office visit. This is insane and in my
estimation, criminal.
Nasal flu vaccines are even worse, because
they introduce a live virus into the nasal passages, which can then travel
along the olfactory nerves, which leads to the very part of the brain first and
most severely affected by Alzheimer's disease. A number of studies have shown
that viruses and bacteria can pass along this route to the brain.
In fact, in one study scientists sprayed a
bacterium into the nose of mice and observed a rapid development of Alzheimer's
type plaques in the mouse's brain.
So What Should Older People Do?
First, studies have shown that the primary
cause of immune deficiency in the elderly is purely dietary. The carotenoids, such as beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, canthaxanthin, lutein and lycopene significantly enhance the immunity of the elderly.
Zinc, magnesium and selenium are also essential. One should also avoid omega-6
oils (the vegetable oils: corn, safflower, sunflower, canola, soybean and
peanut oils), since they greatly enhance inflammation and depress immunity. The
EPA component of fish oils (omega-3 oils) is also a powerful immune
suppressant.
A healthy immune system means that you can
fight infections efficiently and rapidly.
Regular exercise, such as brisk walking or
weight exercises three to five times a week also boost immunity, while extreme
exercise suppresses immunity. Sugar and refined carbohydrates also suppress
immunity and inflame the brain. Exercise protects the brain from aging effects
and from degeneration.
Adequate sleep is also vital to both brain
health and good immune function.
Pubic health officials and spokesmen for the
major medical societies are lying to the public concerning vaccine safety. We
now possess sufficient information from a great number of studies to halt this
disastrous vaccine policy. We are facing a medial disaster in this country,
which is already well on its way.
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