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The Thymus
Gland is a small gland in the upper chest. It weighs 1/3 -
1/2 half ounce at birth, and reaches its peak weight of about
17 ounces at puberty. Thereafter, under the influence of many
factors, including adrenal and sex hormones, the active thymus
gland cells begin to die off, with much of the thymus gland
tissue being gradually replaced by fat and connective tissue.
Much of
the healthy thymus gland structure typically atrophies by
age 20, and the decline accelerates throughout life thereafter.
As immunologist Keith Kelly notes: "The involution (shrinkage)
of the thymus gland is one of the cardinal bio-markers of
aging." In the past 40 years, science has discovered that
the thymus gland is the key regulator of immunity.
Collectively,
thymus gland hormones have been shown, in human, animal and
in vitro studies, to have a broad range of action, well beyond
merely maturing and differentiating T cells. These hormones
can prevent the tissue wasting that occurs with thymus gland
removal or severe thymus gland atrophy, and promote healthy
weight gain in disease states- such as AIDS - where catabolic
body wasting is typical. The thymus gland hormones can reduce
autoimmune reactions, clinically and experimentally, such
as occur in rheumatoid arthritis.
Thymus
gland hormones also prevent the bone marrow injury and subsequent
reduction in white and red blood cell production, frequently
produced by X-ray or chemotherapy cancer treatment.
As cellular
physiologist Dennis Fahy has noted:
| If
you restore immune function, your ability to make DNA,
to have normal cell division, to have normal insulin sensitivity,
to have normal thyroid levels and other things, such as
normal population of certain molecules in the brain that
change with age, all these things are restored by an improvement
in the immune system. |
Since
thymus gland hormones are secreted by the very thymus gland
cells that "shrivel up" and waste away due to aging, stress,
disease, radiation and malnutrition, etc., the drop in thymus
gland hormone activity with aging should hardly be surprising.
Although
it is not well known, even to most alternative/ anti-aging
medicine devotees, there is a large body of published, human
clinical research supporting the use of oral thymus gland
extracts. They have been used in a broad range of conditions,
ranging from cancer treatment, to rheumatoid arthritis, to
various allergy and asthma conditions, to recurrent respiratory
infections and hepatitis. (11)
These
studies have generally shown thymus gland extracts to be extremely
non-toxic and side effect free, with few contraindications
for use.
The main
block to the acceptance of the efficacy of oral thymus gland
extracts is the erroneous yet widespread belief that all proteins
and peptides taken orally, as food or supplements, are 100%
digested to individual amino acids before absorption, from
the intestine into the body.
If this
were true, then indeed orally administered thymus gland peptide
hormone extracts would be broken down completely during digestion,
becoming merely very expensive, low dose amino acid supplements,
with no more immune activity than (for example) a few hundred
milligrams of ground beef protein. Yet it has been known since
the 1970's that significant quantities of various proteins,
such as gliadin from wheat, milk casein, Ferritin, hemoglobin
and milk immunoglobins routinely survive digestion and enter
the body - and even the brain - intact.
The pioneering
research of W.A. Hemmings and Ziovdrov and others had repeatedly
demonstrated this by the late 1970's in a wide variety of
experiments using many different proteins. (12, 33)
In the
1997 textbook Oxidology, Bradford and Allen even explain the
mechanism of how this occurs. It is based on a cellular process
called "pinocytosis." (44)
The thymus
gland creates the T-4 "helper" white blood cells that perform
their specialized job in the human body of locating invaders
such as viruses, bacteria, or abnormal cells. The thymus gland
also sends out the T-8 "killer" white blood cells to find
invaders and destroy them.
People
with advanced liver pathology will feel better after practicing
the recommendations in this book. However, they may not completely
reverse the path of the hepatitis C virus unless they incorporate
the most aggressive treatment that delivers the best possible
results: NatCell™ frozen thymus extract.
Enough
cannot be said about live peptide thymus extract, which feeds
the immune system what it needs to kill the hepatitis C virus.
There are many forms of thymus: pills, liquid, natural, and
artificial. These different products range from worthless
to terrific.
I attribute
most of the successful eradication of hepatitis C from my
body as a direct result of consuming several thousand dollars
of this product in eighteen months. Keep in mind that I had
to pay as much as $600 a box to obtain thymus extract from
doctors. I provide this same item for less than $140. I took
one frozen vial every other day. I thawed it in my hand, poured
one half vial under my tongue, and held it for five minutes,
and repeat. If I could afford it, I would take it the rest
of my life. If Cortez had found the fountain of youth, this
could have been how he felt.
I advise
against taking cheaper products. One example is Thymoic Protein
A, a product listed in Health and Healing, March 1997 (15).
I took this product post-healing, and I did not notice the
jolt or feeling of well-being associated with the natural
form. I question whether or not Thymic Protein A is effective,
as it contains only one of the seven main properties of the
thymus gland.
Be warned,
some of these products will not dissolve in water, even after
an entire month. These pass through you completely and into
the toilet. If you have hepatitis C, you need NatCell™ thymus
extract!
Thymic
hormones and their downstream cell products (such as interleukins
and interferons) control all of the phases of maturation,
development, antigen commitment, proliferation and cytotoxic
activity of the various T cells. Thymic hormones also stimulate
non-specific phagocytic and cytotoxic cells to respond against
foreign or "non-self" antigens.
Liver
diseases, including chronic hepatitis and primary biliary
cirrhosis, have been successfully treated by natcell thymus
extract. Results of a study using 102 patients with chronic
hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis showed an increase
in T lymphocytes, increased functional activity of mononuclear
cells (increased chemotaxis and inhibition), and decreased
immunoglobulin counts. All of these indicators signify an
increased competence, which favors controlling the immunoinflammatory
process in the liver and a normalization of the clinical manifestation
of the disease leading to a favorable outcome. (16)
These
results are important not only for successful treatment of
a very difficult disease, which frequently has an unfavorable
outcome, but also for the implications for treatment of hepatitis
produced by other causes. Viruses, fungi, or mycobacteria
(tuberculosis) cause many of the inflammatory conditions of
the liver. (17) Cellular immunity is the chief defense against
these agents. Successful treatment using NatCell Thymus extract
suggests many exciting possibilities for treatment of the
presently untreatable ailments of the liver using immunomodulating
substances such as thymus extracts.
The thymus is essential to the maturation of the immune system.
It contributes to the development of T lymphocytes, guard
cells that participate in the immunoreactions. Unfortunately,
the thymus atrophies with age, and the production of defense
cells gradually decline, making human beings more vulnerable
to various diseases.
Thymus: An Essential Gland of the Immune System
The thymus is essential to the maturation and maintenance
of the cells of the immune system. It exerts its influence
by liberating hormonal factors that act inside the thymus
itself as well as elsewhere in the body. Blood concentrations
of these thymic factors reach their maximal value at puberty,
and gradually decline afterwards. Immune system deficiencies
observed in old people and in several diseases are linked
in good part to the abnormally low level of thymic factors.
The immune system's function is to protect the body against
parasitic infections (viruses, bacteria, fungi, microbes,
etc.) that cause invasive and sometimes fatal diseases. The
immune system uses, among other things, the lymphocytes. Many
types of lymphocytes participate to the immune response (Figure
1). For example, during a parasitic infection, the lymphocytes
called macrophages phagocytize the parasites and break them
up into fragments which are then exposed at the surface of
the said macrophage and presented to the immunoregulator T
lymphocytes. Those T lymphocytes activate and release messenger
substances (cytokines) that increase the immune response and
stimulate the production of antibodies by B lymphocytes. Other
types of T lymphocytes have a direct cytotoxic action on cells
presenting parasite fragments, thus completing the immune
response.
At birth, the child benefits from the lymphocytes passed
on to him by his mother, which protect him from infections.
He must quickly start to produce his own lymphocytes, which
will mostly originate from bone marrow and thymus. A thymic
deficiency in the newborn will result in lack of T lymphocytes
and in the quick appearance of physiological complications
that will translate into slowed growth rate or repetitive
infections, and possibly lead to premature death.
Maturation of T Lymphocytes: An Important Event in
the Immune Response
The maturation and proliferation of T lymphocytes are regulated
by factors produced and released by the thymus and the lymphocytes
themselves. A large number of distinct factors are necessary
to maintain a balanced production between the various types
of T lymphocytes; these factors include almost all interleukins,
thymosins, thymopoietin, thymic humoral factor, thymic factor
X, serum thymic factor, as well as other thymic factors not
as well characterized. These serum factors have a direct effect
on the maturation and differentiation of the various types
of T lymphocytes.
The lymphocytes of the thymus are multipotential
cells, which means they can undergo several differentiation
pathways to ultimately become functional T lymphocytes (Figure
2). Those T lymphocytes include the effector (cytotoxic cells)
and immuno-regulator (auxiliary cells, suppressive cells)
lymphocytes. When a T lymphocyte is activated by a parasite,
it commits itself and becomes specific to this parasite, which
will thereafter be the only activator of this sensitized lymphocyte.
The committed T lymphocyte stays vigilant for the rest of
its life; its survival depends on the presence of thymic factors.
In a way, the committed T lymphocytes constitute a major constituent
of the immune memory, allowing the body to quickly react when
exposed again to the parasite.
Involution of the Thymus During Aging and Sensitivity
to Infections
The thymic gland is located at the base of the neck. In humans,
it continues to develop after birth, and reaches its maximal
size at puberty (approximately 60 g). Both lobes of the thymus
are divided into lobules, which contain a cortex and a medulla.
The cortex is composed almost essentially of lymphocytes,
that are the actual defense cells, while the medulla is mostly
made of epithelial cells with a few scattered lymphocytes.
The epithelial cells of the thymus produce most of the thymic
factors necessary for the maturation and maintenance of the
immune cells.
During aging, the thymus gradually decreases in size and
activity (Figure 3). Its weight decreases by 2/3 and its lymphocyte
content by 90%. Cell death occurring in the tissue is not
caused by the disappearance of any essential substance; in
fact, this involutional phase is still not well understood,
and it is believed to be a natural, genetically-programmed
phenomenon.
The serum concentrations of thymic hormones also decrease
after puberty and reach their lowest value at age 60 and on.
This decrease clearly shows the deterioration of the immune
system's competence observed in old people.
Conclusion: The thymus is an essential organ
of the immune system. In the adult, its functions are to produce
mature lymphocytes and to maintain the health of the surveillance
lymphocytes that circulate in the body and stay alert in order
to quickly defend the body against a parasitic intrusion.
Thymic factor deficiencies caused by illness or aging are
responsible for several immune system deficiencies; infections
are then more difficult to fight, and they gradually drain
the vital energy of the infected individual.
Due
to the recent problem with the madcow disease,
the FDA has inspected and cleared our Natcell products
for sale.
FDA Clearance No. 110-3122937-2
NO MADCOW HERE! |
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