Every once in a while I do things that make Dr. Bruce Williams jokingly
write back to me, "Oh, oh, Sukie's been thinking again."
 
Today is one of those days.
 
I'd like to know more about cytokine storms.  I am wondering if perhaps
there may be specific groups among the ferrets who get the current
mystery disease/DIM who may be most vulnerable due to cytokine storms.
 
(In humans these immune system responses are postulated as one reason
why the very worst influenzas (like the one during the 19teens) are more
likely to take young children, people 18 to 30, and women who have been
pregnant in recent years.  Some isolated areas with high birth rates were
hit especially hard then.  (The best survival was in ages 40 to 60 in
humans in that pandemic, while people over 60 and especially a decade or
more older simply are usually more prone to other infection related
problems.)
 
If something like this is happening in ferrets who get the mystery
disease then the groups with the most active immune systems could be the
ones who are most vulnerable and if so it may be useful to know which
groups to not usually worry as much about.  Also, in that situation it
may be possible for elderly ferrets to have serious illness from the same
disease but without the same symptom grouping which is caused by extreme
immune response in those with stronger immune systems (if this is not an
autoimmune disorder but a disease that triggers a disasterous cytokine
storm in some groups), and in that case perhaps other age groups get the
illness but sail through it.
 
That is all only postulating, of course, so it easily could mean nothing
at all.  It just seems like maybe it is a possible interesting direction
to learn more.
 
I can do more internet searching, and will, of course, but if someone
happens across an interesting non-internet reference on cytokine storms
could you let me know, please, and maybe assist me in getting a copy
when that is viable?  I appreciate it.
[Posted in FML issue 4808]