Super Immunity in General?

[JNUGGZ]

Found out recently that I am Apoe4/4 - am not too distressed, as - I am just going to continue to research and do the best possible things for it.

My question to the group, is anyone who is 4/4 - seemingly immune to colds and flu's etc? At 45 I can maybe count on one hand how many colds I have had, or flu, never once had a headache...

I thought this was weird, but then came upon this nuggett of info

Super Immunity

In a seminal article in PNAS, Caleb Finch's 'Evolution of the human lifespan and diseases of aging: Roles of infection, inflammation, and nutrition' talks about how humans evade infections and the role of apoE4. As a carnivorous creature, hominids had access to ingestion of better protein, trace minerals and fats. The apoE system shuttles cholesterol and the contents of LDL and HDL particles into nervous system tissues (iodine, zinc, tocopherols, ubiquinone, vit K2, etc).

By absorbing fats from the intestines quickly, this sequesters fat from parasites, bacteria and other pathogens. It is believed this might be one mechanism of super immunity which is observed in E4 carriers.

thanks!

[Orangeblossom]

It is interesting, I have heard of immune system differences in E4s before, but not of 'super immunity' I was actually thinking of this recently as I noticed I never seem to get things others around me do, or not as severally, flu, bugs and infections etc.

That it can be kind of altruistic, protects in young and not so helpful in the old...perhaps..

I too fight off infections and have never even had a bad cold or chest infection, when I had nasty rare bowel obstruction in the past due to something rare, it wasn't picked up and the surgeons said had a big inflammatory response which literally was life saving, adhesions had sealed off the area...maybe was even life saving.

As a child I was rarely ill, as well.

I found the article you mention and is worth a read http://www.pnas.org/content/107/suppl_1/1718

It's nice to hear of some positives of APOE4. I have also heard of better vitamin D and better lower rates of macular degeneration (loss of eyesight) as well.

[JNUGGZ]

thanks! Will check it out!

[Lucy5]

Hi JNUGGZ and welcome to our community from another 4/4.

Regarding your E4 “super immunity” question, the only genetic protection I’m familiar with for our population is against certain parasitic infections. You can search our forums for discussions on that topic (and others) by clicking on the magnifying glass along the top of this page. As a 65 y/o 4/4 I can say I’ve enjoyed overall good health so far, but do tend to catch the seasonal colds bugs that my grandchildren are kind enough to share with me! Other members will likely chime in soon with their own thoughts/experiences regarding immunity for E4s.

If you haven’t found it already, we highly recommend reading our site Primer written by a member doctor who is also a 4/4. Our Wiki has additional E4 related information you may find of interest. Please don’t hesitate to ask questions as they come up. This is a very supportive community and we all continue to learn a great deal from each other. If at some point if you’d like to share more about yourself, feel free to post on the Our Stories forum. Looking forward to hearing more from you & how you’re doing.
warmly, Lucy

[KellyS]

Good afternoon, JNUGGZ,

I echo everyone else's sentiments when I say "Welcome to the neighborhood!" Lucy5 has already directed you toward the amazing primer that is available, as well as the Wiki site; I think you'll find both of those excellent places to start.
I, too, think that others will jump in soon with their stories on the possible immune dysregulation link as AD seems to be such a multi-factorial disorder.
Again, welcome to the site, and if there is anything at all that you need, please don't hesitate to post!

Warmly,

Kelly S

[SoccerMom]

That's funny...a few days ago I polled my four siblings (who are at least 3/4 like myself) to see if they feel like they get sick less than the average person. My mom is a 4/4 (age 67) and she never seems/seemed to get sick, and I never get the flu and rarely get colds. I thought maybe it was due to the APO4 gene! Anyway, of the 5 of us, 2 of us rarely get sick, 2 get sick a "normal" amount, and one gets sick all the time. So there went my theory!

[Andru]

Found out recently that I am Apoe4/4 - am not too distressed, as - I am just going to continue to research and do the best possible things for it.

My question to the group, is anyone who is 4/4 - seemingly immune to colds and flu's etc? At 45 I can maybe count on one hand how many colds I have had, or flu, never once had a headache...

I thought this was weird, but then came upon this nuggett of info

Super Immunity

In a seminal article in PNAS, Caleb Finch's 'Evolution of the human lifespan and diseases of aging: Roles of infection, inflammation, and nutrition' talks about how humans evade infections and the role of apoE4. As a carnivorous creature, hominids had access to ingestion of better protein, trace minerals and fats. The apoE system shuttles cholesterol and the contents of LDL and HDL particles into nervous system tissues (iodine, zinc, tocopherols, ubiquinone, vit K2, etc).

By absorbing fats from the intestines quickly, this sequesters fat from parasites, bacteria and other pathogens. It is believed this might be one mechanism of super immunity which is observed in E4 carriers.

thanks!

I remember reading some papers that these benefits arise mainly in early life or childhood, but haven't seen anything on middle or old age with regards to immunity! With that said, I have a strange story that could have just been a fluke.

I went to hiking and camping in the Panama country-side in my mid-20s with a group of 6 people, including myself. It was DIRTY! Especially near the villages and farms, there seemed to be entire fields of animal droppings, dead livestock everywhere, dirty water and tons of mosquitos and other angry bugs. Anyways, everyone got giardia except me! It took one of them almost a whole year to fully recover from the effects and symptoms... Very nasty stuff.

But I also got a lot of ear infections from lots of swimming as a kid, so who knows how protective E4 really is

[JNUGGZ]

Thanks all! I have read the primer front to back prior to posting, the site is fantastic. Thanks for the answer and this free amazing resource!

[hairyfairy]

I have one copy of the apoe4 gene, & I don`t think that I was especially healthy growing up, I caught my share of colds & flu.

[apod]

My mom is one of those E4's with super immunity. She gets sick just slightly more often than "not ever." It's interesting too, because she has a fairly stressful work life and seems to thrive on 6hrs or so of sleep (I've always felt I need closer to 9.) She often says she's way too busy to get sick. My immune system is pretty lame -- I was always catching colds / flus as a kid and missing school. As a teenager / young adult, I had frequent viral flare ups (biopsies revealed HSV1)... then as an adult, I contracted a staph infection / sepsis which got me started on the whole path toward general wellness. While I'm better off now, I'd still describe my immune system as less than average / ideal. There must be other factors at play beyond the E4 gene or I'm more E3 than E4.