COVID-19

[living sounds]

Yes! Go science!

 

[hodad]

Moderna's data looks to be extremely preliminary, but one hopes that it turns out to be a successful vaccine--especially since it does not require extreme refrigeration. 

 

[Gold]

There is nothing warmer than a fur coat. Most fur coats are not worn for practical reasons though.

I love wool felt. I use it for lots of stuff from sound absorption to upholstery to decoration. I just learned there is animal fur felt too. The most common is rabbit but the best is beaver. Apparently Native Americans used beaver felt for winter coats. These days it’s mostly used for hats. I think a proper Amish hat is beaver felt. The most expensive Stetson cowboy hats are beaver felt.

I know beavers were trapped to almost extinction but they have come back and are now plentiful in North America.

I think fur is unnecessary but I don’t see how it’s any more evil than eating a cow. Tossing live animals into a chipper is obviously cruel.

 

[Tubetec]

Theres no doubt about it fur is one of the best things in nature to keep the cold out .
Hunting and trapping wild animals for their skins and as food like humans have done for generations is one thing ,
battery caged animals rared for what amounts to vanity isnt in the same league at  all. Depending on the farming methodology, cows dont have such a bad life , its not the most efficient way of putting food on the table though and inevitably there could be some distress when it becomes time for the creature to meet its end, or ends up live transported . Its never a free lunch and the various farming methods do vary widely in animal welfare terms. We could do a lot to keep the planet going further with a more veg based diet , be hard give up our favourite cut of steak cooked to perfection though.

 

[Gold]

battery caged animals rared for what amounts to vanity isnt in the same league at  all. Depending on the farming methodology, cows dont have such a bad life ,

I agree with that. Clubbing baby seals to death is different than farm raised livestock raised with care and killed in a manner that they never knew what hit them.

 

[crazydoc]

Maybe shrooms will help us get through this.


Psychedelic Treatment Dramatically Reduces Depression Symptoms in Study
November 10, 2020

Tom Valentino, Senior Editor

Psychedelic treatment, provided in combination with supporting psychotherapy, was found to produce “rapid and large reductions” in symptoms of major depression in a study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University. Findings from the study were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Researchers recruited 24 patients with a documented long-term history of depression, most of whom had experienced persistent symptoms for the previous two years. Participants tapered off antidepressants with the help of their personal physician before engaging in the experimental treatment. Of the 24 patients, 13 received psilocybin treatment immediately after recruitment and preparation; the remaining 11 went through the same steps after an 8-week delay.

All patients were provided with two doses of psilocybin under the guidance of two clinical monitors. Doses were given two weeks apart, with each treatment session lasting five hours.

Patients’ symptoms were assessed on the GRID-Hamilton Depression Rating Scale at enrollment, and at one and four weeks after treatment. At the outset, patients’ depression levels averaged a score of 23 (on a 24-point scale), indicating severe depression. At one and four weeks post-treatment, patients registered an average score of 8, the lowest number in the “mild depression” range of the scale. Overall, two-thirds of patients reported a reduction of more than 50% in depression symptoms after one week and 71% after four weeks. Also at the four-weeks-post-treatment mark, more than half of patients were considered in remission.

“The magnitude of the effect we saw was about four times larger than what clinical trials have shown for traditional antidepressants on the market,” says Alan Davis, PhD, adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said in a news release. “Because most other depression treatments take weeks or months to work and may have undesirable effects, this could be a game changer if these findings hold up in future ‘gold-standard’ placebo-controlled clinical trials.”

The study’s researchers plan to follow the participants for a year to track the long-term antidepressant effects of the treatment.

 

[rob_gould]

.

 

[scott2000]

Sounds like Friday night....

Go figure cigarettes are considered "essential" during a pandemic... Something like a half million deaths attributed to smoking every year in US... Really?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbsYc3UNdZ4

 

[JohnRoberts]

Maybe shrooms will help us get through this.


Psychedelic Treatment Dramatically Reduces Depression Symptoms in Study
November 10, 2020

Tom Valentino, Senior Editor

Psychedelic treatment, provided in combination with supporting psychotherapy, was found to produce “rapid and large reductions” in symptoms of major depression in a study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University. Findings from the study were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Researchers recruited 24 patients with a documented long-term history of depression, most of whom had experienced persistent symptoms for the previous two years. Participants tapered off antidepressants with the help of their personal physician before engaging in the experimental treatment. Of the 24 patients, 13 received psilocybin treatment immediately after recruitment and preparation; the remaining 11 went through the same steps after an 8-week delay.

All patients were provided with two doses of psilocybin under the guidance of two clinical monitors. Doses were given two weeks apart, with each treatment session lasting five hours.

Patients’ symptoms were assessed on the GRID-Hamilton Depression Rating Scale at enrollment, and at one and four weeks after treatment. At the outset, patients’ depression levels averaged a score of 23 (on a 24-point scale), indicating severe depression. At one and four weeks post-treatment, patients registered an average score of 8, the lowest number in the “mild depression” range of the scale. Overall, two-thirds of patients reported a reduction of more than 50% in depression symptoms after one week and 71% after four weeks. Also at the four-weeks-post-treatment mark, more than half of patients were considered in remission.

“The magnitude of the effect we saw was about four times larger than what clinical trials have shown for traditional antidepressants on the market,” says Alan Davis, PhD, adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said in a news release. “Because most other depression treatments take weeks or months to work and may have undesirable effects, this could be a game changer if these findings hold up in future ‘gold-standard’ placebo-controlled clinical trials.”

The study’s researchers plan to follow the participants for a year to track the long-term antidepressant effects of the treatment.

Not sure what this has to do with viral pandemics other than reported increases of depression and suicides from prolonged lockdowns (with rumors of more... but that is as much politics as science).

The mind operates in a chemical soup of stimulants, depressants, etc.

LSD is a very strong psychoactive and from my limited personal experiments back in the 60s I would be cautious about wide unsupervised use. I never experimented with shrooms, and don't plan to. I can imagine a similar chemistry mechanism to LSD.

JR

PS: This is in the news because Oregon legalized (psilocybin) for supervised medical use, and decriminalized possession of small quantities for personal use. Oakland is also talking about decriminalizing possession of small quantities of shrooms. That may explain some recent events.   

 

[crazydoc]

Not sure what this has to do with viral pandemics other than reported increases of depression and suicides from prolonged lockdowns

Bingo

 

[JohnRoberts]

Bingo

I am no medical expert but psilocybin seem impractical as a mass remedy for lockdown related depression and mental affectations. Good that we are at least thinking about the unintended consequences of more shut downs.

Of course at risk people need to be protected.

There is a new study (German) suggesting that most school kids who contracted COVID did not catch it while attending school.... Attending school is apparently safer than the rest of their lives.

I'll stop now before this gets political. 

JR 

PS: IMO TV commercials are depressing....

 

[scott2000]

Immunity to the Coronavirus May Last Years, New Data Hint

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/health/coronavirus-immunity.html

 

[Script]

NYT is subscription only ?

Anyway, decades would be great. This article however says it might be only 6 months (for some). I guess time will tell.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/11/more-people-are-getting-covid-19-twice-suggesting-immunity-wanes-quickly-some

 

[CJ]

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

 

[cyrano]

Someone was infected twice already, despite showing antibodies.

So the question isn't only "how long will the immunity last?" but also "what level of antibodies do you need?"

Frankly, I wouldn't expect immunity lasting longer than six months, based on what other Corona virii show.

 

[scott2000]

NYT is subscription only ?

Anyway, decades would be great. This article however says it might be only 6 months (for some). I guess time will tell.

Oh... I don't know.. Is it a fake site? Not realy NYT?

I thought it did seem a bit optimistic. But yes it could be good news if it were reliable.

Someone was infected twice already, despite showing antibodies.

So the question isn't only "how long will the immunity last?" but also "what level of antibodies do you need?"

Frankly, I wouldn't expect immunity lasting longer than six months, based on what other Corona virii show.

Yes. I guess the fatality rate is also something to keep an eye on. One thing that's hard to figure out is how the estimated excess deaths are determined. There are many confusing terms in the methodology. It would be interesting to know how population growth is factored in as well as any increases in ageing populations when the averages are figured out . To just compare the previous year's numbers to get an average seems a bit too simple so I'm sure this is taken into account.

Looking at Florida's population census it's easy to see that the number of people over 75 increased by over 80000 from 2018 to 2019 for example. Surely this is being factored in to what could possibly be expected to happen especially since there is a huge emphasis on the ageing population in general. But IDK how this works..

 

[living sounds]

While I think it's a good idea to explore the possible therapeutic benefits from psychedelics (DMT is a good candidate, too) without ideological blindfolds, I would be wary about treating an excogenic (induced by external factors) depression with medication.

Also, people have good reason to be depressed during a pandemic, and depressed people tend to stay at home alone, so...

 

[scott2000]

explore the possible therapeutic benefits from psychedelics (DMT is a good candidate, too) without ideological blindfolds

After hearing about a couple of suicides after experimenting with DMT, it's interesting to hear, "well, that must just be part of their process"....from practitioners

Wild....

 

[Tubetec]

Ive tried the 'magics' a few times , never did any synthetic haloucinogens though.
probably not something Id bother with anymore , no regrets over trying it though ,
definately can give a new perspective .
Microdosing is another avenue that might be worth exploring , it has showed potential benefits compared to Prozac. The posibillity of its use in conjunction with some kind of talking cure treatment also seems plausible, the effectiveness or success could depend on figuring out which people might respond best to it , some people will benefit more from a councilling based approach where for others who are resistant to that ,it could be inefective or even counter productive . One major plus with these substances is theres no toxicity to the body ,that cant be said of many mainstream psyhc meds ,same time I dont want to argue with anyone who feels they get a net benefit from a particular treatment. One thing that cant be denied though is Covid has been good for business for the sale of anti anxiety and anti depression meds , shows even in a crisis some are positioned to make a mint.

 

[CJ]

you can buy vaciene on amazon right now, prime members only.

pennsylvania has outlawed booze for thanksgiving wtf?