Allergies etc - Vaccine Information by PHILIP F. INCAO, M.D. May 5, 1999

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" WHAT in reality IS PREVENTED IS NOT the DISEASE BUT the ABILITY of

our CELLULAR IMMUNE SYSTEM to MANIFEST, to RESPOND to and to OVERCOME the

DISEASE! "

and this is not immunity - " VACCINATIONS are usually effective in

preventing an individual from manifesting a particular illness, but

they DO NOT IMPROVE the overall STRENGTH or HEALTH of the individual

nor of the immune system. Instead, VACCINATIONS MODIFY the REACTIVITY

of the IMMUNE SYSTEM, decreasing acute discharging inflammatory

reactions and INCREASING the TENDENCY to CHRONIC ALLERGIC and

AUTO-IMMUNE REACTIONS. "

" in whom the Th2 function predominates, causing few acute

inflammations but rather the tendency to chronic allergic or

autoimmune inflammations, a vaccination would cause the Th2 function

to predominate even more, aggravating the imbalance of the immune

system and harming the health of that individual. This is what

happened in Gulf War Illness. "

http://www.mercola.com/1999/archive/vaccine_information.htm

PHILIP F. INCAO, M.D. May 5, 1999

In order to use vaccinations wisely, we need to understand exactly

how they work. Until recently, the mechanism of action of

vaccinations was always understood to be simply that they cause an

increase in antibody levels (titers) against a specific disease

antigen (bacterium or virus), thus preventing infection with that

bacterial or viral antigen. In recent years science has learned that

the human immune system is much more complicated than we thought. It

is composed of two functional branches or compartments that may work

together in a mutually cooperative way or in a mutually antagonistic

way depending on the health of the individual.

One branch is the humoral immune system (or Th2 function), which

primarily produces antibodies in the blood circulation as a sensing

or recognizing function of the immune system to the presence of

foreign antigens in the body. The other branch is the cellular or

cell-mediated immune system (or Th1 function), which primarily

destroys, digests and expels foreign antigens out of the body through

the activity of its cells found in the thymus, tonsils, adenoids,

spleen, lymph nodes and lymph system throughout the body. This

process of destroying, digesting and discharging foreign antigens

from the body is known as the acute inflammatory response and is

often accompanied by the classic signs of inflammation: fever, pain,

malaise and discharge of mucus, pus, skin rash or diarrhea.

These two functional branches of the immune system may be compared to

the two functions in eating: tasting and recognizing the food on the

one hand, and digesting the food and eliminating the food waste on

the other hand. In the same way, the humoral or Th2 branch of the

immune system tastes and recognizes and even remembers foreign

antigens and the cellular or Th1 branch of the immune system digests

and eliminates the foreign antigens from the body. But just as too

much repeated tasting of food will ruin the appetite, so also too

much repeated stimulation of the tasting humoral immune system by an

antigen will inhibit and suppress the digesting and eliminating

function of the cellular immune system. In other words, over

stimulating antibody production can suppress the acute inflammatory

response of the cellular immune system! 1

This explains the polar opposite relationship between acute

discharging inflammations on the one hand and allergies and

autoimmune inflammations on the other hand. The more a person has of

one, the less he or she will have of the other! A growing number of

scientists believe that the increase in America, Europe, Australia

and Japan in allergic and autoimmune diseases (which stimulate the

humoral or Th2 branch of the immune system) is caused by the lack of

stimulation of the cellular or the Th1 branch of the immune system

from the lack of acute inflammatory responses and discharges in

childhood. 2, 3, 4, 5 We need to identify the factors which cause

this shift in the function of the immune system or which cause

allergies and autoimmune diseases in childhood to increase!

If we now return to the original question of the mechanism of action

of vaccinations, we find what I believe is the key to the puzzle. A

vaccination consists of introducing a disease agent or disease

antigen into an individual s body without causing the disease. If the

disease agent provoked the whole immune system into action it would

cause all the symptoms of the disease! The symptoms of a disease are

primarily the symptoms (fever, pain, malaise, loss of function) of

the acute inflammatory response to the disease.

So the trick of a vaccination is to stimulate the immune system

just enough so that it makes antibodies and remembers the disease

antigen but not so much that it provokes an acute inflammatory

response by the cellular immune system and makes us sick with the

disease we re trying to prevent! Thus a vaccination works by

stimulating very much the antibody production (Th2) and by

stimulating very little or not at all the digesting and discharging

function of the cellular immune system (Th1). Vaccine antigens are

designed to be unprovocative or indigestible for the cellular immune

system (Th1) and highly stimulating for the antibody-mediated humoral

immune system (Th2).

Perhaps it is not difficult to see then why the repeated use of

vaccinations would tend to shift the functional balance of the immune

system toward the antibody-producing side (Th2) and away from the

acute inflammatory discharging side (the cell-mediated side or Th1).

This has been confirmed by observation especially in the case of Gulf

War Illness: MOST VACCINATIONS CAUSE a SHIFT in IMMUNE FUNCTION from

the Th1 side (acute inflammatory discharging response) TO the Th2

side (CHRONIC AUTO-IMMUNE or ALLERGIC RESPONSE). 6

The outcome of this line of thought is that, contrary to previous

belief; vaccinations do not strengthen or boost the whole immune

system. Instead vaccinations over stimulate the tasting and

remembering function of the antibody-mediated branch of the immune

system (Th2), which simultaneously suppresses the cellular immune

system (Th1) thus preventing the disease in question.

WHAT in reality IS PREVENTED IS NOT the DISEASE BUT the ABILITY of

our CELLULAR IMMUNE SYSTEM to MANIFEST, to RESPOND to and to OVERCOME

the DISEASE!

There is no system of the human being, from mind to muscles to immune

system, which gets stronger through avoiding challenges, but only

through overcoming challenges. The WISE USE of VACCINATIONS would be

to USE THEM SELECTIVELY, and NOT ON a MASS SCALE. In order for

vaccinations to be helpful and not harmful, we must know beforehand

in each individual to be vaccinated whether the Th1 function or the

Th2 function of the immune system predominates.

In individuals, in whom the Th1 function predominates, causing many

acute inflammations because the cellular immune system is over

reactive, a vaccination could have a balancing effect on the immune

system and be helpful for that individual. In individuals, in whom

the Th2 function predominates, causing few acute inflammations but

rather the tendency to chronic allergic or autoimmune inflammations,

a vaccination would cause the Th2 function to predominate even more,

aggravating the imbalance of the immune system and harming the health

of that individual. This is what happened in Gulf War Illness.

The current use of vaccinations in medicine today is essentially a

shotgun approach that ignores differences among individuals. In such

an approach some individuals may be helped and others may be harmed.

If medicine is to evolve in a healthy direction, we must learn to

understand the particular characteristics of each individual and we

must learn how to individualize our treatments to be able to heal

each unique human being in our care.

VACCINATIONS are usually effective in preventing an individual from

manifesting a particular illness, but they DO NOT IMPROVE the overall

STRENGTH or HEALTH of the individual nor of the immune system.

Instead, VACCINATIONS MODIFY the REACTIVITY of the IMMUNE SYSTEM,

decreasing acute discharging inflammatory reactions and INCREASING

the TENDENCY to CHRONIC ALLERGIC and AUTO-IMMUNE REACTIONS.

Epidemiologic studies 7 8 9 have shown that as families improve their

living conditions, hygiene, nutrition, literacy and education, the

risk of life-threatening acute infectious , inflammatory diseases

very much decreases. Families with poor living conditions, hygiene,

nutrition and literacy would generally be most likely to benefit from

vaccinations. Families with good living conditions, hygiene,

nutrition and education probably would benefit from vaccinations very

little or not at all. Individuals with a tendency to allergic or

autoimmune diseases are LIKELY to BE HARMED BY VACCINATIONS.

SIDE EFFECTS of VACCINATION are usually ALLERGIC or AUTOIMMUNE

inflammatory reactions caused by the shift of the immune system s

reactivity from the Th1 side to the Th2 side. Modern medicine is just

beginning to recognize this. 10 Modern MEDICINE HAS NOT

SCIENTIFICALLY MEASURED the RISK/BENEFIT RATIO of ANY VACCINE. 11

Research into the risks of vaccines is very inadequate, according to

two comprehensive reports on vaccines by the U.S. Institute of

Medicine in 1991 and 1994.

My preceding explanation of how vaccinations affect the immune system

is true also in animals. Vaccinations cannot make animals healthier,

but only good handling, environment and nutrition can make animals

healthy and resistant to disease. Vaccinating pigs may prevent them

from having illness from one particular strain of virus but will not

improve their overall resistance to other illnesses nor even to other

strains of the same virus.

It is important to remember that an infection with a particular virus

or bacterium does not necessarily cause illness unless the resistance

of the individual is low. In the case of Japanese Encephalitis Virus

(JEV), most infections cause no symptoms and less than 0.1% of

infected individuals develop severe encephalitis. 12 Individuals

living in poor conditions, with poor hygiene, nutrition and education

are at higher risk of serious illnesses from JEV or any other

infection. In such individuals a vaccination would most likely be helpful.

VERY OFTEN the MEDIA EXAGGERATE the EXTENT of such outbreaks. Each

individual should freely decide, based on knowledge and not on fear

and hearsay, whether he or she or a child would benefit from a vaccination.

References

1 Parish, C.R. " The Relationship Between Humoral and Cell-Mediated

Immunity. " Transplant. Rev. 13 (1972):3.

2 Ronne, T. " Measles Virus Infection without Rash in Childhood is

Related to Disease in Adult Life. " The Lancet Ltd. (1985):1-5.

3 Odent, M.R., Culpin, E.E., Kimmel, T. " Pertussis Vaccination and

Asthma: Is There a Link The Journal of the American Medical

Association 272(1994):588.

4 Cookson, W.O.C.M., and Moffatt, M.F. " Asthma: An Epidemic in the

Absence of Infection? " Science 275(1997):41-42.

5 ez, F.D. Role of viral infections in the inception of asthma

and allergies during childhood: could they be protective? Thorax

1994;49: 1189-91.

6 Rook, G.A.W., Zumla, A. " Gulf War Syndrome: Is It Due to a Systemic

Shift in Cytokine Balance Towards a Th2 Profile? " The Lancet 349

(1997): 1831-1833.

7 McKeown, T. The Modern Rise of Population. New York: Academic Press, 1976.

8 McKeown, T. The Role Of Medicine: Dream, Mirage, or Nemesis? New

Jersey: Princeton University Press 1979.

9 Sagan, L.A. The Health of Nations. New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1987.

10 Rook, G.A.W., Zumla, A. " Gulf War Syndrome: Is It Due to a

Systemic Shift in Cytokine Balance Towards a Th2 Profile? " The Lancet

349 (1997): 1831-1833.

11 Robin, Eugene, M.D. " Some Hidden Dimensions of the Risk/Benefit

Value of Vaccine " from the First International Public Conference on

Vaccination. andria, Virginia September 1997.

12 , T., Kneen, R., Dung, N.G., Khanh, V.C., Thuy, T.T.N., Ha,

D.Q., Day, N.P.J., Nisalak, A., Vaughn, D.W., White, N.J.

" Poliomyelitis-like illness due to Japanese encephalitis virus "

Lancet 1998; 351: 1094-97