Finally, a reason for someone to understand the cytokine system. Every time one of these diseases comes along, we should realize how little we all know about the immune system in the end.
Scientists in Hong Kong say they may have helped explain why the H5N1 bird flu virus kills so many healthy young adults -- it apparently causes a "storm" of immune system chemicals that overwhelms the patient.
The H5N1 virus caused proteins known as cytokines to rush to infected lung tissue -- evidence of a so-called cytokine storm, an immune system overreaction that can be fatal.
The study, published in the online medical journal Respiratory Research, might suggest that if H5N1 does cause a pandemic, it could disproportionately affect the young and healthy as compared with seasonal flu, which kills many elderly people but few young adults.
It also raises questions about how effective drugs will be in controlling such a pandemic, experts said.
"We have to see if it is true and if we can do anything about it," cautioned Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who was not involved in the research.
But if the experiment does accurately show what happens in people, it may mean patients with H5N1 infections will need drugs that depress the immune response in addition to antivirals, Fauci said.
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