Greetings, fellow swampers and those preferring dryness. I give loads of thanks to fishtroller for the citations which are referenced here: Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA)

Prequel: the information presented below can best be quickly summarized as follows. Suppress neuroinflammation and also non-neural inflammation and you relieve both symptomatology and disease severity. We could discuss degranulation of mast cells, interleukins, hypercytokinemia and other wonderful pathophysiologic mechanisms, but today your faithful gator is not energetic enough to do the whole thing--for which those reading will likely appreciate--or I hope you do.

First, we must learn about inflammation: learn about inflammation

Inflammation (from Latin: inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants,[1] and is a protective response involving immune cells, blood vessels, and molecular mediators. The function of inflammation is to eliminate the initial cause of cell injury, clear out necrotic cells and tissues damaged from the original insult and the inflammatory process, and initiate tissue repair.

The five classical signs of inflammation are heat, pain, redness, swelling, and loss of function (Latin calor, dolor, rubor, tumor, and functio laesa).[1] Inflammation is a generic response, and therefore it is considered as a mechanism of innate immunity, as compared to adaptive immunity, which is specific for each pathogen.[2] Too little inflammation could lead to progressive tissue destruction by the harmful stimulus (e.g. bacteria) and compromise the survival of the organism. In contrast, chronic inflammation is associated with various diseases, such as hay fever, periodontal disease, atherosclerosis, and osteoarthritis.

Inflammation can be classified as either acute or chronic. Acute inflammation is the initial response of the body to harmful stimuli and is achieved by the increased movement of plasma and leukocytes (especially granulocytes) from the blood into the injured tissues. A series of biochemical events propagates and matures the inflammatory response, involving the local vascular system, the immune system, and various cells within the injured tissue. Prolonged inflammation, known as chronic inflammation, leads to a progressive shift in the type of cells present at the site of inflammation, such as mononuclear cells, and is characterized by simultaneous destruction and healing of the tissue from the inflammatory process.

Inflammation is not a synonym for infection. Infection describes the interaction between the action of microbial invasion and the reaction of the body's inflammatory response—the two components are considered together when discussing an infection, and the word is used to imply a microbial invasive cause for the observed inflammatory reaction. Inflammation on the other hand describes purely the body's immunovascular response, whatever the cause may be. But because of how often the two are correlated, words ending in the suffix -itis (which refers to inflammation) are sometimes informally described as referring to infection. For example, the word urethritis strictly means only "urethral inflammation", but clinical health care providers usually discuss urethritis as a urethral infection because urethral microbial invasion is the most common cause of urethritis.

Remember, students of Wu Flu: osis is a descriptive suffix meaning possessing a certain condition, whatever that may be. Halitosis means bad breath, which is a condition. Osteoporosis is a bony condition of which inflammation is not a part. If a bone becomes inflamed then the term is osteitis. Osteitis can be sterile or infectious. Infectious osteitis is almost exclusively seeing penetrating wounds which damage bone enough so that bacteria (rarely fungi) are implanted deep into the wound, affecting bone.

Palmitoylethanolamide: a natural body-own anti-inflammatory agent, effective and safe against influenza and common cold.

More conveniently Palmitoylethanolamide is abbreviated as PEA. This is how the compound will be named in the essay.

PEA is essentially a fatty acid derivative which occurs in nature, all by itself--no human intervention required. We know about the Omegas (you know, like alpha and omega--no not really). Omega 3, Omega 6, Omega 9, etc. the numbers after the letter refer to the length of carbon chains in the molecule. Different Omegas have differing and also similar properties to one another. This will not be discussed further.

PEA is found in meat, poultry, and other edibles. But the most important sources for the purpose of this article are eggs (specifically egg yokes) and peanut oil (such as is copiously present in peanut butter--or, perhaps to remind you, we can spell this PEAnut butter).

Four controlled studies are referred to in two of the articles (actually the same 4 studies). 350+ scientific papers have been written this subject, of which I have read three. No expert here--but I can translate the text into English from Medicalese. So, please forgive the lack of scientific rigor when you read this.

As mentioned above, there are two types of inflammation: septic (meaning due to infection) and aseptic (meaning not due to infection). One cause of rheumatic heart disease (mitral valve inflammation leading to mitral stenosis) is infectious; the usual causative origin is Group A alpha streptococci (i.e., strep throat). This is definitely septic. But sepsis is not what damages the mitral valve. The culprit damaging the valve is aseptic--it is an autoimmune response stirred up by the inflammatory reaction to the strep. Thus RHD (rheumatic heart disease) is caused by a hyperimmune reaction.

So we see in the RHD example where an infection indirectly but proximately induces valvular damage. The same thing can happen with any infection in any individual possessing a functioning immune system (although genetically or chemically indeed hypoimmune states are well-known as well).

Viral infections of which all the different gene and species are included often induce a hyperimmune response. In the case of ARDS (Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome) the inflammatory response is not directed at the mitral valve, but is almost uniformly damaging to the alveoli of the lungs. The tiny interval between pulmonary venous capillaries and the external cell layer of the alveolus is quite thin. Ordinarily such an interface is considered a potential space.

Due to certain situations in which fluid can seep between the walls of the capillary and the walls of the alveolus, the potential space becomes an actual fluid compartment. Interposition of anything between the outer alveolar wall and the capillary reduces the rate of transfer of respiratory gases.

The two most physiologically important gases are O2 (oxygen) and CO2 (carbon dioxide). Breathing is a perfect example of out with the old (CO2 from completed metabolism) and in with the new (fresh oxygen enabling further metabolism to occur). When the transport of these gases is slowed, O2 concentration falls and CO2 concentration rises. CO2 actually diffuses into air more easily than O2, but for our purposes, this doesn't matter.

When the interstitial fluid, which is a description of the fluid filling the previous potential spaces, becomes thick enough, gas transport may cease entirely. You know the rest: No O2 = No survival.

ARDS is thus a byproduct of the body's hyperimmune reaction to flu and other infections (even bacterial). Bacterial superinfection readily occurs during periods of low oxygenation. Hence people lapse into unconsciousness. This is usually slow but can be dramatically abrupt in presentation. This is the basis for the stories of people dropping in their tracks while walking.

So ARDS is a bad thing. And ARDS occurs because of hyperimmune activity induced by various chemicals called interleukins (IL), tumor necrosis factor ª (TNF alpha), and a host of other cytokines, such as histamine (histamine is abundant in mast cells which form part of the immune system).

Since we do not yet possess either a proven antiviral or potent immune suppressors, such as prednisone, NSAIDS, aspirin, we can't do anything about viral infection other than supportive care. Rest, nutrition, hydration, assistance with mobility, etc. are cornerstones of management.

Enter PEA. Without going into deep detail about the two immune suppressor pathways activated by omegas, the relevant feature is that PEA suppresses immunity induced by inflammation sterile or aseptic, as well as septic.

One pertinent finding is discussed in the papers about a controlled trial in which PEA by itself, without antibiotics suppressed inflammatory substance exertion by immune modulators involving children with proven group A strep throats. This group was compared to control groups of similar patients who received there same treatment (also minus antibiotics). The PEA-treated group had substantially lower rates of complications, especially RHD.

How does this happen? The treated group were given 4 egg yolks daily along with usual diet--no added supplements. These are children, thus possess a relatively small body mass index (BMI). BMI is not to be confused with BMR (basal metabolic rate). Adults would require higher egg intake to achieve similar results combatting any viral or bacterial process.

A dose-finding experiment in adults may have been done but I didn't check the literature. So adjusting for increased BMI possessed by most adults, the useful number of eggs consumed might be 6 (or more, or less).

Peanut oil, or should I write PEA nut oil instead, posses PEA. The amount of PEA in peanut oil or p[eanut butter has not been researched by me. This may have been done elsewhere. But since peanut butter is yummy and its only known side effect is obesity derived from excessive ingestion, brings me conclude as follows:

When ill with infection, if you are prone to hyper immunity (such as eczema, idiopathic asthma, hives, connective tissue disorders [such as lupus erythematosis, ulcerative colitis, celiac, etc.]), then you are a prime candidate to receive benefits from 6 eggs and a peanut butter (c/s jelly) sandwich.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klDHM_sxYxs]