Updated and Bumped with this note from Andrew Gaiziunas.

Just popping in to say hello and add some context before anything gets out of hand.



Me and my dad (retired M.D.) were intrigued by the possibilities behind this particular piece of research coming across my desk yesterday morning: https://chemrxiv.org/articles/COVID-19_Disease_ORF8_and_Surface_Glycoprotein_Inhibit_Heme_Metabolism_by_Binding_to_Porphyrin/11938173/5



Being all stuck at home under quarantine, we wanted to learn more. My dad provided the medical knowledge, I provided the tech & sleuthing skills, and we came up with this core hypothesis. As we pulled together a series of anecdotal data, some pre-prints, and even some peer-reviewed papers, a clearer picture of the hypothesis formed. We found missing pieces precisely where we thought we would. And yes, we became convinced this is not only plausible but quite likely (or a similar mechanic) to be the case.



I threw it up on Medium just to save a copy and see if anyone would have feedback. We got plenty — much over both of our heads, some out-of-left-field fantastic ideas. For example, if this turns out to be the case, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy might save lives (we have far fewer hyperbaric chambers in the US than ICU beds), a mountain climber suggested portable hyperbaric bags which are pretty cheap (in comparison) and can fit through hospital doors could do the trick.



This was precisely the type of interaction we were looking for.



The article has since been taken down by Medium, but it seems it garnered sufficient interest in the 12 hours it was up as to be handed off to much more qualified and experienced hands. We’re hopeful some of this can be found to be useful; it may or may not, but NOT sharing it would have weighed heavier on our minds if we found out later this theory, or something similar to it, could have helped save lives and yet we did nothing about it.



Cheers and best of luck, everyone stay safe and thanks.

-AG



Thank you, Andrew. The original post continues below.

This article is currently percolating across social media and may begin to gain traction in the coming days: Covid-19 had us all fooled, but now we might have finally found its secret. (Now deleted, copy here)

It makes for a compelling read, no question. And it may even be a valid hypothesis, and at least one of the responses lends it legitimacy, as perhaps does this. ⇽ Read it.

But it’s also written under a pseudonym, “libertymavenstock”.

With a few minutes of sleuthing, I found the identity of the author — Andrew Gaiziunas along with his Youtube channel on cryptocurrencies, and an interview. It had 7 views as of this morning. So buyer beware should it pop up in your travels. (Update: He is likely the son of a retired Illinois doctor of the same name.)

It would be useful if our readers in the medical field would chime in.

Fair warning: to anyone veering off topic or jamming up the threads with conspiracy jackshit – prepare to be disappeared.

But I also stumbled upon this during my trip down the rabbit hole, and this is probably as good a place to share it as anywhere. By Dr.Cameron Kyle-Sidell who is treating COVID-19 patients in New York City. Patients need OXYGEN NOT PRESSURE!!! The ventilators may be causing lung damage because of PRESSURE. Needs to be immediately investigated.

And more here.





“These patients as far as I can see, do not experience respiratory fatigue. It seems to be a pure hypoxemic failure. […] the constellation of symptoms seems to most mirror that of decompression pulmonary sickness or high altitude sickness.”

Italian paper that also describes this phenomenon: Covid-19 Does Not Lead to a “Typical” Acute Respiratory

Distress Syndrome (pdf)

Update: Our own DrD weighs in.

Also, from the comments:

This might be a reach but as a physician I’ve been aggressively treating patients here in the west with the hydroxychloroquine+high dose zinc (200mg per day)+azithromycin with good results but started getting even better when we added a true functional glutathione. We were awarded a patent on this product last year and are currently seeking several further patent continuations (along with international patents) as we were planning to create a biotech around it (meaning we already have the financing/investment and know it works like it should — first one to truly work or to be validated — the only one that works in the marketplace). And after reading these comments and this great article we believe we now know what it was doing and why — it helps prevent the cytokine cascade/storm in the lungs and the overwhelming oxidative stress as mentioned and when used along with hydroxychloroquine probably helps resolve the porphyrin problem more effectively. It is also extremely antiviral (macrophages use it to attack viruses) which is some of our first NDIs for which we are going after with the FDA. But these are all mostly just theories buttressed with the recent clinical knowledge gained by treating a lot of sick patients. Hope this helps the thoughts and conversation.

Much appreciated.