Have an Autoimmune Disease? Blame the Black Death

The bubonic plague killed so many people in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa that that natural selection event is still rippling through our genomes today. But the same genes that helped your ancestors survive the Black Death may be contributing to autoimmune disease today.
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[@deovolente5867]

Wow. I thought my body was too weak and trying to kill me. Apparently, my body is too strong and trying to kill me.

[@carlyar5281]

“my body is too strong and trying to kill me” pretty much sums up autoimmune conditions. 😔

[@nico3727]

Thats why you take immune suppressants to hold you back from destroying yourself

[@Maray182]

Hahaha had the same epiphany recently. That’s why I don’t get sick, didn’t get Covid once, but I’m also allergic to a whole bunch of stuff, besides my autoimmune issues. I think it may be cause my body wants to go to war with everything, just to be safe 😂

[@theselector2310]

The typical antibody binds to a domain that is from 3 to 20 amino acids in length. It is typically around 7 amino acids. So if one considers that there are some 20 plus amino acids the odds of matching and binding exactly to 7 discrete amino acids is pretty unlikely. It all just means you've won the lottery if you have an antibody that matches an antigen in your system. You could have either a defective antigen or a defective antibody to do this. When the antigen is defective you can have a protein that doesn't function as intended.

[@sherrihaight2724]

You're so badass thst only you could damage you!

[@mcmosfet2856]

There's an interesting book about this subject called "Survival of the Sickest" by Sharon Moalem that states the reasoning for this kind of genetic expression like this: Q: "Why would you take a cure that kills you in 30 years?" A: "Because it keeps you alive today." Its an interesting reminder that evolution tends to ignore negative traits, as long as they don't prevent reproduction.

[@teagan_p_999]

I heard a quote once, along the lines of "Evolution doesn't care what happens after you successfully reproduce."

[@useyournoodle100]

Natural Selection is about ensuring you pass your genes on to the next generation. As long as you live long enough to procreate the rest of your life doesn't matter as much. Thirty years down the road is really out of the scope of concern for the mechanisms of Natural Selection.

[@muppaneniteja1160]

Or are we disrupting the natural selection by advancing in the medical fields?

[@catrandle9439]

​@muppaneniteja1160 natural selection is obviously not survival of the fittest in this case but survival of the now

[@patrickmccurry1563]

Species behavior is a part of natural selection. Reptiles evolved to manage body temperature through behavior for example. @@muppaneniteja1160

[@jenniferburns2530]

As someone with Rheumatoid Arthritis, and many family members with autoimmune diseases, I knew something genetic was going on. I guess an adaptation that ensured survival during a pandemic ended up giving me a disease that is treated with immunosuppressants that put me at higher risk in the latest pandemic.

[@verdatum]

My aunt is a retired rheumatologist and the thing that blows my mind is how much of these things it has taken us so long to prove.

[@Jarlerus]

Funnily enough, my medication for Crohns was used during Covid19 ICU-treatments because it calms down the immune system :P So, I was kind of actually protected by my medication.. but, with the vaccine, and my medication, I was sick for like 3 months with Covid- Although mild it was quite annoying.

[@emilybarrett464]

Ugh isnt it horrible being vulnerable during a pandemic. I have multiple sclerosis and started a type of chemo as the pandemic started. Turns out it got delayed for the second dose due to the pandemic, so the treatment ended up not working for me. Im now on an immunotherapy, waiting for a stem cell transplant so have to wear masks all the time still. Although the first neuro i went to about the stem cell transplant (dr ben turner at whitechapel hosp in london) doesn’t believe in the pandemic!! How can i let someone like that be responsible for a treatment that has a 30% fatality 😩😩😩 i also have rheumatoid arthritis, so the stem cell transplant could have potential help with that. I wish u well with your health xx

[@glen.simpson]

it's the food silly....diet runs in families stronger than genes.

[@janmcclure6239]

me too, I have psoriatic arthritis, have to suppress my immune system and then get vaccines.

[@petersmythe6462]

This is an excellent example of how natural selection can select for things, even in just one generation, that wouldn't necessarily be advantageous in every situation, only the current situation.

[@angelikaskoroszyn8495]

Evolution is a process without an objective. It's 100% to evolve into a dead end

[@rubenvasquez8592]

​@studiouskid1528it's a losing race against an always changing environment

[@EcclesiastesLiker-py5ts]

It really suggests eugenics is a bad idea practically, as well as morally.

[@noname-wo9yy]

@@EcclesiastesLiker-py5ts eugenics is not blind unlike evolution

[@zoeollie202]

No we’re just humans who have had very questionable dangerous beliefs about eugenics in the past. Im getting into pharmacology and interested in the company regenron and their research into treating genetic diseases. Of nature is able to find the outcomes that helps people survive and not know the consequences 6-8+ generations down, it’s pretty silly imo that is just accessing this level of technology and skill we would be able to anticipate outcomes perfectly. There are still people that are convinced phrenology is legitimate (laypeople) there are scientists with horrible ethics (think of all the eugenics programs through history that focused on killing people). Yeah, learning shoot it is great, yeah we are going to learn to do more and make those judgment calls, but we’re all here and life finds a way. If evolution ended in dead ends, none of us would be here. The earth has survived several mass extinctions. There is simply a response to the world around us. I wouldn’t undercredit radiant evolution, and I wouldn’t trust humanity to know what’s best as people that are just beginning to really figure this out.

[@germann2615]

It actually makes me somewhat happier about having crohns knowing that it’s from a history of my ancestors surviving!

[@avery581]

Same!! I have an ostomy for Crohn’s and one of my earlier past relatives had one too. I understand the technology in terms of bags/daily life type stuff is a whole lot better now than of around that time. It continues to get better :D

[@lilz]

Crohn’s crew!

[@jewelbug8713]

There's an interesting book I read after my child was diagnosed with IBD called A Cure for Chron's written by a doctor. It is a compelling read. Hoping a cure is found soon for all who suffer from this terrible condition.

[@RomayPM]

I too have Crohn's though I didn't realise my ancestor's ability to survive was the culprit lol

[@Minimojojoy]

Same! 5 bowel resections over here.☝️(slowly but surely running out😂) Always knew it was my ancestors fault, didn’t know it could go that far though!😂

[@SpawnofHastur]

There's a similar issue with Sickle-Cell Anemia - it turns out that when attrition due to malaria is very high, having sickle-cell anemia (or just being a carrier for it) improves your lifespan and thus your ability to spread your genes.

[@CortexNewsService]

I was thinking of that watching the video.

[@sudstahgaming]

So the sickle is used on others around you not yourself haha

[@kene6954]

Same here.@@CortexNewsService

[@helloyes2288]

pretty sure literally everyone knows this.

[@raerohan4241]

​@@helloyes2288 Anyone that's passed 10th grade should know this, yes. But not everyone watching this video may have done that yet, and also even the ones that passed may not have been great students

[@astralb.2647]

My existing genetic condition was actually "awakened" by getting Covid in January 2020. It's very strange how, despite having had the mutation my whole life, a simple infection was what made me symptomatic

[@missquprison]

That is almost always the case. Something kicks it off, then ur immune system learns to kill part of your body.

[@user-md3wm7vu1f]

it seems that oftentimes prolonged or severe anxiety and stressful/inflammatory life events can also be the trigger. trying to "tough it out" in an environment thats too stressful has risks that most people arent aware of

[@astralb.2647]

@missquprison that's usually the case, but my condition isn't autoimmune. That's the strange part about it, I have no clue how it was turned on by a viral infection. I have Ehlers-Danlos

[@Ruktiet]

EDS is not necessarily a disease. It can be associated with mast cell disorders, but if you didn’t suffer from it before, that means that it’s not a genetic, but epigenetic problem, and thus that it’s completely reversible

[@reachandler3655]

Pregnancy can also 'awaken' such conditions.

[@Jrock420blam]

My battlebuddy for 8 years and one of my best friends has Crohn's. He hid it, and got it treated on the side for years because the Army would have booted him for it. Several deployments and he toughed it out and self medicated. It wasn't until he took some shrapnel and he had to stay at a hospital before they found out. One of the toughest and best humans I have ever met. You are a hero Gabe.

[@samsin34]

That’s hard..Muxh respect to him.. hope he’s doing fine

[@Sweetlyfe]

My Niece has her Crohn’s under control and doesn’t have to use any medication anymore after she went plant based foods, she just cooks her husband and her 4 kid’s meat meals and makes hers separately, since her Mum and I grew up in a restaurant and then a catering business that my Niece worked in too, she doesn’t find it difficult to cook a separate meal for herself.

[@ErinMTexas]

🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲💗💗💗💗💗🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲

[@JessaHawke]

@@Sweetlyfethat’s wild. I have IBD and can’t eat most plants. Most of us can’t. Your niece is very lucky.

[@aliaskaradylov6637]

I am from Kyrgyzstan and all my family has skin-related chronic autoimmune diseases. I, my father and my daughter have psoriasis, and my uncles and brothers have vitiligo. Taken that the Black Death was originated in Central Asia and to this day we still occasionally have cases of bubonic plague, I now understand why we might have adapted these annoying diseases.

[@Cheiko18]

Stop having sugar and gluten. It’ll take a year for body to heal but it’ll show improvements in symptoms right away.

[@varoonnone7159]

Plus cousin marriages common in muslim communities

[@Strontkipje]

What is your diet like?

[@amyx231]

Better psoriasis than Plague! I’ll take my eczema and food allergies over death!!!

[@daft_j]

My maternal grandpa’s side of the family have skin-related chronic immune disease. One of my cousins (who has a half-sister with lupus) ended up diagnosed with psoriasis and I ended up with ezcema and other disorders that caused my skin to flare up

[@spindash64]

I’d been wondering for awhile if autoimmune diseases might be related to looking for an early, aggressive response to certain diseases. Should be interesting to see how this research pans out

[@telegramsam]

Same. I haven't taken antibiotics since I was a kid but have tons of allergies and eczema, and many relatives with autoimmune diseases. Pick your poison I guess.

[@GameTimeWhy]

​@@telegramsampeople had autoimmune and other diseases and cancers before antibiotics existed.

[@luisv007]

@@telegramsamas someone with an autoimmune disease and need medications to help me live well, I don’t see your point in mentioning antibiotic use and autoimmunity. Without antibiotics, I would already be dead due to septicaemia, due to increase risk of UTIs (urinary tract infections) due to autonomic neuropathy due to my MS. I had a viral infection before I developed MS. I still wonder about that, but this video adds to my curiosity.

[@dM_gH]

Take a look at studies on the Eppstein-Barr virus and Multiple Sclerosis. That might be one good example. Edit: I was hospitalized with Eppstein-Barr in college and now I have......... bingo! MS. :)

[@luisv007]

@@dM_gH have seen the info about it and the research into a new vaccine for Epstein-Barr virus. Thanks 🙏

[@YuBeace]

Many of us have our auto-immune diseases "awakened" so to speak after an infection of some kind. But something I also noticed is that the side of my family that deals with the most auto-immune diseases also got through covid rather solidly. I guess it's easy to shoot down a pathogen when your guns are already out. I've always kind of suspected this may be a thing, so it's neat to hear a SciShow about this theory.

[@aemeth5418]

This is just an anecdotal example, but I wonder if this is why, having Crohn's, I am still the only person in my family and my surroundings who has never caught Covid. I always thought it was weird.

[@YuBeace]

@@aemeth5418 I have a friend with Crohn's but they also take extremely strong immuno-surpressants for it, so this made them extra dangerously sick when they actually caught covid. If you're not actually taking immuno-surpressants then you won't be that badly off but if you are, then you've just gotten lucky not to catch it, LOL.

[@ReineDeLaSeine14]

I’m in drug free remission from JIA, and had COVID the most mild out of anyone. My mom has SLE that’s mild and not treated and she was a hot mess.

[@creepy_artist]

I barely felt COVID when I got it... Now I'm getting nervous

[@emmteemee]

It wouldn't hurt to get your vitamin D level checked, and take a supplement if you're low. Also, avoid stress, or learn to handle it. Both stress and low D are associated with the onset of my autoimmune disease (Graves').

[@SakiKei]

As a dane with 5+ chronoic disorders, one of them IBM, blaming my forfathers fits me quite well.

[@taaptee]

Would you mind saying what the other disorders are?

[@luisv007]

Without our forefather, we wouldn’t be here to have an autoimmune disease or two or more. Double-edge sword ⚔️ 😢. I have MS (which is greater in females than males), rosacea (which is greater in females than males), allergy to penicillin and erythromycin (which is greater in males than females) ….. 😢

[@SakiKei]

@@taaptee Asthma, psoriasis, diabetes, colitis ulcerosa (I have heard that called IBM but I'm not sure it's correct), takykardi (chronic elevated pulse) and 10+ allergies of various severity. I have a stoma because of the UC and as well as scar tissue in my lungs because of a severe allergic reaction. But hey, I'm alive, and considering everything, I'm doing pretty good 😊

[@lakrids-pibe]

That's a lot to deal with. Our forfathers could have done a better job. Lazy bums! Hello from a fellow dane.

[@luisv007]

Can I second that? Hello Danes . Aussie here (Italian parent).

[@nola281]

Resistance to hiv has also been linked to plague as well. What I've come to expect now is if your ancestors survived the plague, then you will be affected in other crazy ways. My family was in the hardest hit parts of france and we have many people in my family have auto immune conditions.

[@capnstewy55]

I get sick way less than my wife but I have an almost constant rash over large sections of my body. Thank you psirocis.

[@snoopstheboss994]

Look into Boswellia Serrata! It helps so much to manage chronic skin conditions. (Mine is lichen ruber).

[@cailinanne]

Dermatologists have come a long way with psoriasis. Mine is mostly clear after being on over 60% of my body! ❤

[@rolandtowen2595]

This kind of stuff is so fascinating! Reminds me of the "advantage" of being a sickle cell carrier in areas with malaria

[@MossyMozart]

@rolandtowen2595 - I've seen people in Sickle Cell crisis - truly torture.

[@angelasieg5099]

This was fascinating. I know one case does not prove a hypothesis, but here is my story. My husband was often sick as a kid. Always with gi illness. The doctor to his mom it was everything from viruses to he was faking it. When he was 15 he turned yellow and collapsed. Long story short he had undiagnosed IBD. Going untreated for so long it killed his liver. He had a liver transplant then a 2nd one 2 weeks later when the 1st one failed. We have been married for 22 years. In that time he has had two more transplant surgeries. Here is the funny thing, he almost never gets colds or the flu. We both got Covid a month ago and he had the sniffles. He had 1 day he felt sick enough to stay in bed. It happens every time. Someone gets a cold he feels a little off for a few day but recovers quickly. Even after all the transplants, surgeries, bouts of rejection and sepsis and lymphoma he is alive and working full time. He amazes us all including the doctors at UW-Madison Hospital.

[@phaedrapage4217]

Hmm, very interesting. I'm glad he doesn't get hit hard by viral infections, and is able to work despite chronic health issues. He'd be a great case study.

[@DopamineDecor]

Shout out from Madison! 🙋

[@HeronPoint2021]

I find that really interesting, as I was always one of those who when the flu (west wet coast)hit and fellow workers were off for a week, I'd get a little hit and be back to work Monday. Never missed a day. This year I ended up on the floor and in ICU for three weeks with a bacterial infection that almost killed me, but the doctors including a committee of bacteria specialists had no more a guess as I knew my medical history for 7 decades: NOTHING. 400 relatives with NO diabetes, no other physical issues. I think this is the way I carry my genetic legacy from Norway and Sweden.

[@Pomegranatek]

I wonder if this is partially psychosocial - he was told as a kid that his illness wasn’t valid, so he learned to just power through it

[@DaxCyro]

I can fully understand that one. I got a whole range of "mild" auto-immune diseases. That's the down side. However regular infections and infectious diseases are either not at all or barely affect me. When people started talking about asymptomatic during Covid I finally had a word for it, and knew I had to be extra carefull to avoid spreading it. At work I'm that bastard that might have the sniffles during the weekend, while all others are bed bound for a week. Thus I have to forcefully quarantine myself whenever I'm a bit sick to avoid sending people to bed for weeks at a time.

[@CosmicShieldMaiden]

My son has crohns , it’s horrific. He’s starting IV infusions next week😢

[@robo7643]

I have Ulcerative Colitis and have been getting infusions for about two years now. It gets easier to get them done 💜 I hope he does well and gets to relax after it's over

[@CosmicShieldMaiden]

@@robo7643thank you

[@raf.raf.]

I have a friend that got much better with IV infusions after trying many different oral medications with little success. Hope he gets better too!

[@scotthenrie5148]

Crohn's is induced by magnesium deficiency. Modern farming practices are depleting magnesium from the soil.

[@Ekami-chan]

The symptoms from it can hopefully/thankfully get better even if the illness can't. Source, me who couldn't get out of bed few years ago because of chron's pains, and now I can, good luck. 👍

[@Nukeaon]

I've been diagnosed with Crohn's Disease now 20 years, it was exciting to see you guys did a video on this, thank you so much @SciShow team!

[@nico3727]

Are you on infliximab and do you still have bloody stools without needing er

[@poppletronva]

I remember listening to SciShow Tangents and hearing that Hank also had Ulcerative Colitis and it was really cool to see how much he gets done despite that. I was diagnosed my senior year of highschool in 2017 and it closed a lot of doors at the time, but I pushed forward and found my own opportunity to strive towards something special. I had access to a mic and editing software, and started auditioning for small voice acting projects before slowly working my way. There have been a lot of ups and downs, but even when things were the hardest I could act... And well, this past month I've finally reached some of those really big lifelong goals and I have felt a lot of that hard work beginning to pay off. There's still a long way to go, but I know for a fact that people with UC can do incredible things if they set their minds to it, Thank You Hank.

[@kiddfpv]

Soo many people in the comments that are struggling with chronic illnesses…im sooo sorry and i hope you all get better and stronger and can make a better life for yourselves

[@Cynthia63636]

You just watched a video saying our immune systems are too strong...

[@samm4158]

thank you! the best thing you can do for us is vote for socialized medicine if your country doesn’t have it already, and to uphold medical science and treat others with kindness

[@pluspiping]

And we all hope you'll wear a mask to the store so you don't give covid (and long covid, and all of its autoimmune problems) to people already dealing with enough autoimmune problems. This would help make life better for us.

[@nikknacs5698]

my dad died at 49 due to complications with lupus, at diagnosis there was literally nothing known about lupus, great to be learning about some of the causes

[@stalledparade]

I would love to hear them carry this a little further. Seek out those with higher Native American DNA and indigenous communities in the Amazon. They didn’t have to bear all the separate events of infectious diseases. Though they had to bear one massive event when Europeans arrived. They should have a different set variants with less autoimmune issues, but still held up to all the infectious diseases at once? I’m curious!

[@kellychuba]

We certainly wrecked their DNA with generational trauma. We know this one.

[@kahnabull1694]

We’re good. They dug up and continue to dig up enough of our ancestors’ graves without respect or permission. They should check out the North African folks and stuff tho, that they excluded.

[@teagan_p_999]

There's not a single native american (of either continent) alive today, no matter how isolated, without at least one European ancestor. That's how much the European settlers f***ed (literally) around.

[@minecraftfox4384]

​@@kellychubalmfao. That doesn't exist.

[@sagesufferswell]

​@@minecraftfox4384Generational Trauma absolutely exists, plus we continue to traumatize them regularly, to this day in so many ways. You can't heal from a wound if the knife is still inside.

[@SteezyG]

My grandfather has rheumatoid arthritis and my mother has MS. Every year I get older, something really not right flares up in my body. I know inside it's building up to a clear diagnosis. I just aim to be as healthy as I can to keep it at bay.

[@romanpaladino]

Growing up I hardly ever got sick. I never got any of the childhood deseases, not even chicken pox. I never got the flu, just a mild cold once in while, even skipping a year or two. Now I have an autoimmune decease.

[@mwater_moon2865]

Interesting, I've always heard that Cystic Fibrosis was plague related. By having one copy of the gene you were 3-7X more likely to survive because your lung secretions were slightly thicker and less prone to infection, so even though 2 copies are fatal, if HALF of your kids were very likely to survive, then even 25% guaranteed to die to CF and 25% lost to plague meant you were still ahead of the neighbors where 90% of them died due to plague. Same for Sickle Cell and malaria, those who carry one copy of the gene have lower levels of infection and death from malaria. So even if 25% of your kids are in a bad way, well let's just point out that infant mortality 100 years ago in Great Britain was 14.2%, that is 142 babies out of every 1000 born died before age 1. The child mortality rate in the US was and 18.5% 100 years ago*, that is 185 kids out of 1000 didn't make it to their 5th birthday. And infant mortality in GB didn't drop below 25% until 1875 or in the child mortality rate in the US, until 1900. By 2020 that dropped to 7 out of 1000, or .7%. As such, for the purpose of passing on a set of genes loosing a child to a genetic disease wasn't nearly as much of a factor as illness. *Full disclosure, late 1910s and early 1920s had a slight spike due to the Spanish Flu pandemic so by 1930 there was a drop to 14% due to rapidly improving sanitation and by 1960 it fell to only 3.1% -- after the introduction of a vaccine for polio in 1955.

[@crolmac]

I have read in scientific publications ( a little while ago..)that the gene for cystic fibrosis is protective against cholera, if you have one gene. If you have the 2, of course, full blown cystic fibrosis.

[@Mixedtale_official]

Is there any Internet spot where you just talk about stuff because the way you explained that was just absolutely perfect and I would love to just read walls of text from you xD

[@mastpg]

Not only that, but, until VERY recently, evolution gave ZERO Fs about anything that killed you after your mid 30s, as there was a near 100% chance you'd already had kids.

[@meghanmcneal6859]

@@Mixedtale_officialI agree with this comment!!

[@mattwhaley1865]

You pal, sound like you have a PHD. And I’d like to learn more from you.

[@andrewnichols448]

This makes so much sense!! I myself have Crohn's disease, and when the pandemic hit, I was very frequently around others who contracted the virus. Friends, family, friendly delivery people, you name it. However, I never got COVID myself. Last year during Christmas time even, my entire family got COVID except for me. The more and more it happened I got more confused as to how I kept getting so lucky, but tis research would explain so much of what I experienced during the pandemic! Thank you SciShow!

[@Preppyguy-n4y]

I have crohns and am on humira. I get sick way more than my husband and got Covid one more time tho it was very mild. Are you on any biologics to control your crohns? That’s what I blame the increased sickness on but also the lite Covid reaction (no cytokine storm for me)

[@timkurz6086]

@@Preppyguy-n4y ye that makes perfect sense. the biologicals supress the immune system on a much broader level, tho not as broad as steroids do, but you dont take those for an extended amount of time like the biologicals (unless they are locally active of course haha). That would literally defeat the benefit you would get from a more active immune system!

[@Gaetano.94]

I have Crohns, and my fiance is a nurse, and I've gotten covid 4 times already.

[@nico3727]

@@Preppyguy-n4yI got sick from covid pneumonia once but it was extremely bad 6months before i got vaccine and another 6 when I found out i have crohns

[@SeliahK]

Ayep. Type 1.5 diabetes, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus carrier (mom has it, my daughter had the lupus infantile rash as a baby), and rheumatoid arthritis waiting for me to turn 50 (every woman in my family develops it after 50). Celt, eastern european and norse bloodlines.

[@AKMackle]

That really interesting. My first rheumatoid arthritis flare was after I got Mono. When I get the flu my body goes haywire, having to redo my treatment plan sometimes. I feel like it all ties in. There is so much more research to be done!

[@monkeygirlburns9196]

My doctor always explained my autoimmune disease as my body being over-reactive, where is attacks harmful viruses and bacteria but also doesn't know how to not attack itself, which perfectly lines up with this video.

[@nashvegasmgt]

I’m seeing a brand new doctor for my array of health issues, and he just told me the same thing last week. Interesting for sure.

[@Axqu7227]

I’ve got Ulcerative Colitis and almost never got sick growing up. My family is much the same way. The good news is that the treatments are pretty good and I can just take a pill every day. This is really interesting!!

[@bubikiwi]

same! and when I had covid shots weren’t a thing just yet and i wasn’t even aware I had it, I just had a runny nose so I didn’t think much of it as I was also isolating most of the time. while other healthy people i know have had worst luck with covid even with being vaccinated. as far as i know i haven’t caught it after. but i remember having a mild fever twice in my life lol

[@shakirasprisonguard6497]

same. i get sick the least in my family and i got UC too. but i take 6 pills lol

[@Sammy-hg9xb]

Same with me and coeliac disease. Very very rarely get sick from a virus but a slice of bread can take me out 😂

[@jasonames3700]

What medication do you take for your UC ? I have UC as well.

[@ZeroNitroMan]

Another UC patient here. Never took vaccines, because I feared what it might to do to my stable situation. Once got the covid, for a couple of days I felt like I've got a good beating. Only rarely sick, and when it does happen, it usually goes by in one day with slight fewer.

[@Zephyr_Zeitgeist]

Now I wonder if there will be a further increase in autoimmune diseases as a result of COVID.

[@SeliahK]

Given what I've seen in people around me... yes, if this trend is happening in the public at large.

[@SciShow]

If so, it likely won't be because of selection since it was a lot less dangerous for people still likely to have kids. But there does seem to be evidence that getting covid can increase your chances of an auto-immune disease, which researchers are trying to get to the bottom of.

[@davidmcgill1000]

Remains to be seen, figuratively and literally. Still need many years to get the big picture on its impact.

[@longline]

​​@@SciShowSo that sounds like an epigenetic exacerbation of a prior plague-survivor genetic tendency for over excitable inflammation... Type thing?

[@astralb.2647]

It's already happening in real time.

[@ArtisticlyAlexis]

I have diabetes, but I know for sure it existed back in ancient Egypt. They'd pour urine near an ant hill. If the ants went to the pee (meaning sugar was in it from the chronically high glucose,) you had _The Starving Sickness,_ since they realized if they starved the patient, they’d survive longer than if they fed them.

[@joshphillips3738]

That was an interesting historical fact.

[@teagan_p_999]

I remember when I watched Outlander, the main character, a woman from the 1940s living in the 1700s, said a diabetic patient had "sugar sickness." I'm not sure surviving longer sounds worth it, though.

[@shannybabes96]

They have known of diabetes for a very long time. The name mellitus, as in diabetes mellitus means that someone’s urine tastes sweet, which means they are diabetic. Haha they used to taste peoples urine! And then you have diabetes insipidus which doesn’t make your urine sweet if I remember correctly

[@shannybabes96]

When I say “they” I mean people way back, not specially Egyptians :)

[@placebomessiah]

I blame the black death for things on average about once a day

[@iriandia]

Some of us think about the Roman Empire, some of us think about the Black Death, we all have our things to connect to in history!

[@placebomessiah]

@@iriandia the roman empire crowd is a great way to spot cryptofascists

[@iriandia]

@@placebomessiah It's true! I mean the fasces that gave rise to the name is originally a Roman symbol, so it all fits neatly.

[@morebirdsandroses]

Thank you for that. I have narcolepsy, Graves' disease and fibromyalgia. Curse you, Black Death!! I feel a little better already.

[@Rotten_Ralph]

My friend and I both have Multiple Sclerosis and she often referred to our hyperactive T-Cells in our central nervous system. Interesting

[@XXXX-yc6wv]

Bubonic plague is still very much a now thing. A friend of mine contracted it a couple of years ago. Totally treatable in this day and age, but does take a while to have it diagnosed as it isn't exactly every doctor's first thought.

[@printedwit]

this checks. i still haven't gotten covid - or, if i ever did, i was asymptomatic. i also have autoimmune issues out the what-have-you, and 80-90% of my family tree was in areas actively affected by the plague at the time.

[@nikkiewhite476]

This reminds me of the Star Trek episode where a bunch of scientists were making a super human. They had created and raised a group of people that had their immune functions cranked up super high. When exposed to a virus their bodies made immune cells that spread into the scientists and artificially aged them.

[@J.K.GilbertJr]

I've had Crohns for 25 years and have spent that time wondering why. Thank you for a possible and plausible explanation! You guys always come through on so many topics!!!❤

[@jessep5280]

I've been trying to get diagnosed for the last 3 years. My PCP thinks it's possibly multiple sclerosis or spondylitis... my life absolutely sucks. And my brother was just diagnosed with crohn's disease two weeks ago, so this timely video is oddly appropriate.

[@kene6954]

Thanks!

[@ROLtheWolf]

A better way to see it is not that our immune systems are too strong, but rather that they are too un-busy. We used to need immune systems that could fight off disease on every surface - including our filthy hands, but now, we've defeated many parasites and regular bacteria with our modern lives and medicine, so our stellar immune systems get bored and attack our own flesh.

[@myosotismalva]

I like this perspective

[@theresespencer2827]

Similarly, certain types of allergies recede if a population is exposed to parasites of one kind or another. The immune system has nothing to fight so it becomes overly sensitized to certain allergens like pollen or pet dander.

[@b.a.erlebacher1139]

There was an experimental treatment for colitis a while back which was giving the patient eggs of swine roundworms, IIRC. The worms don't survive in humans, but exposure seemed to have an effect in calming down the immune system and relieving symptoms. IIRC, the part of the immune system involved in severe allergies may be the same as normally fights off parasitic worms. In the absence of worms, it may not develop properly. There's also a correlation in children between living in apartments vs houses and asthma. Possibly digging around and eating dirt in the backyard helps the immune system develop more normally!

[@WelshGuitarDude]

Not quite, because infections can trigger ibd due to gene activation. So ideally you want it to be as unbusy as possible, which is also what the medications aim to do.

[@natalyaakselaleksander4502]

This might explain why inmy country Rwanda I don’t know anyone that has food allergies or autoimmune diseases because we’re more prone to other parasitic illnesses and are constantly fighting for our health?

[@anyascelticcreations]

As someone with a small collection of autoimmune diseases I wondered how this would effect me at the start of the pandemic. Kill me quicker or keep me alive? Well, I survived. Twice. Though, long COVID came back to bite me in the butt.

[@evilsharkey8954]

Covid is notorious for causing long term immune overreactions.

[@seitanbeatsyourmeat666]

I wondered that too, but I never got covid even though my husband did twice (and we stayed together in our house). We’re both vaccinated 3x. He was astounded, but I told him my body attacks everything because of my autoimmune diseases. I haven’t been conventionally sick in many years, but I never feel “well” 😅

[@anyascelticcreations]

@@seitanbeatsyourmeat666 I think you're probably right. I had suspected that my frequent and recent (at the time) bouts of the flu or the common cold might have kept my hypervigilant immune system familiar enough to have a head start, too. Especially the common cold since that's a collection of covid viruses too. It seems to me like our immune systems said, "I'm on this!" and wiped it out. In your case, before the virus even took hold.

[@brasschick4214]

There is a theory and emerging evidence that long Covid is an autoimmune disorder.

[@charlayned]

The shots are what did it for us. We stayed home, I got adept at Door Dash, ordering grocery deliveries, and Amazon. My husband worked from home (thankfully he's an IT guy) and we just avoided going out. But, we dutifully took the three shots and both got sick. It kicked my MS out of remission and complicated my fibromyalgia. It hit my husband's liver and he went from healthy to stage 2 cirrhosis. He's got an artifical heart valve (congenital defect we had fixed about 11 years ago) and he has to take blood thinners. The liver made him start throwing up, which pushed holes into his esophagus and he was bleeding internally. He was rushed to the hospital and spent 4 days in ICU getting all sorts of medications, 5 units of blood and 2 of plasma. I was asked repeatedly how much he drank and he doesn't drink, we may have 1 a year on our anniversary but that's it, we just don't drink. They figure the Covid shots were what hurt him. So, both of us are now a mess. We're in our late 60s and this is hard to deal with, aging just complicates it.

[@spunkynuggs7173]

For what it’s worth, my family has a history of IBD and autoimmune conditions, and we passed through the covid pandemic without much issue at all

[@baggaz167]

This is WILD. I haven't had Covid, nor very many virus illnesses AT ALL in my life compared to most people. But I do have Crohn's Disease. Since my diagnosis last year I've been wondering if Crohn's is related to me being vegan, but couldn't find any studies to back that up. It's nice to have at least a little bit more evidence pointing towards it being genetic (which doctors always told me anyway) rather than me just being paranoid and thinking correlation = causation with diet.

[@jg5755]

Many people have reversed auto immune diseases, Crohns amongst them, by avoiding plant foods and only eating animal foods, giving their bodies time to heal. It's your life and you can believe what you want to believe, but why not give it a go rather than suffering.

[@verdatum]

No evidence supports that it can be resolved or prevented by diet. If there was, we'd have lept on that ages ago.

[@huldu]

I had to look up crohn's disease and those symptoms seem pretty nasty compared to what a common cold virus or covid would ever do. You have my sympathy.

[@michaelizatt6274]

Fellow Crohnie here, and I was the exact same way! Barely ever got viral infections growing up. Thought I had a strong immune system... turns out it's too strong 😅 Also, good job managing your Crohns while being vegan. I went vegan for a while when I was trying to figure out my diet, and it made things significantly worse. Now I have 1-2 well-formed bowel movements a day...but I can't be vegan anymore 😑 Ethic aside (which are what make me wish I could be vegan) it may be worth stopping veganism for a little bit to see if it improves for you. You do you, no two crohnies are identical, but veganism was bad for my Crohns in my experience.

[@darkstarr984]

Vegan diets are actually really commonly associated with reduced issues with chronic illnesses, but at the same time, I didn’t get ulcers until my daily fiber intake regularly exceeded 30 grams in my senior year of college. (Reduced issues are not a cure. Just that the diet isn’t making it any worse)

[@darkstarr984]

I’m genetically about a quarter English and have ulcerative colitis and my dad has Crohns, plus we’re the ones in the family who didn’t get COVID, so it makes sense.

[@Skye-Cabbit]

I was the first to show serious autoimmune disease with my UC diagnosis in 2017, but later i found out my mom got psoriasis and my sister just got diagnosed with lupis. Glad research on all this is being done

[@2Balls2Furious]

Not all “protective” diseases are auto-immune. Hemochromatosis is also thought to be prevalent as a result of the plague given high iron levels might have been protective. Same idea as Cystic Fibrosis with Cholera & Sickle Cell with Malaria.

[@sciencefliestothemoon2305]

That is odd, hemochromatosis is a risk factor for at least one bacterial infection to cause rapid overwhelming infection and death.

[@Nutmeg142]

Thanks ancestors, thanks. You’re why I am awake, watching this video, in pain from my three autoimmune illnesses. But I guess you survived the Black Plague.

[@mafiacat88]

I always love these evolutionary trade-offs. They're just so interesting. My favorite one though is probably the sickle cell/malaria one though, just because of how intuitively people can understand it

[@rotanux]

Curiosily also cystic fibrosis is thought to be an evolutionary trade off: since realease of Cl- and so water is compromised in cells, if you are a carrier you are less likely to die from diarrhea

[@edb7121]

Stefan! Good to see you - still miss you on SciShow Tangents.

[@RustyLid]

Diagnosed with Crohn's about 40 years ago, it's a shitty disease that has a way of frequently messing up a person's plans. Do what you can when you can, and hunker down when roughing out the flareups. My father always told me to do the best that I could with the hand dealt me. But I'll always wonder what life would have been like without Crohn's.

[@isabelab6851]

Great video. It seems that many autoimmune diseases have an inception with overactive immune system. Developing deeper understanding into this is so helpful in understanding causes of immune diseases and how to manage their treatment. Thank you

[@dragon-like-tendencies9519]

This reminds me of the trend with sickle cell disease and malaria survivors. Having a single copy of the modified allele on chromosome 11 was noted to increase the chances of full recovery in malaria patients. This suggested that the gene variant first came about and was passed on due to the person's increased likelihood of survival and better health than those without the variant. However, those with two copies of the allele have sickle cell disease, and have increased problems with anemia and overall health. Perhaps they would be even better fighters against malaria then their parents, but we'll likely never know because the host of other problems associated with homozygous sickle cell anemia. It wouldn't be ethical to test the risks, even in a controlled environment, and with the lack of medical care and research facilities in areas endemic to malaria and sickle cell trait/disease, a natural case that could occur will likely go unnoticed. Anyways, very interesting and I enjoyed the video!

[@sharendonnelly7770]

Your video explains a lot about what I have suspected for a long time. Very long story short, I have lupus, had Covid, had Covid vaccine, now have Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy, CIDP for short. With my clearly European ancestry, and previous generations in the family having had autoimmune diseases, this video explains precisely the "why?" Thank you!

[@VictorGabriel-rx8vu]

This makes so much sense. I have Crohn's but I am rarely sick.

[@judelarkin2883]

Aww snap. I’ve got the Chron’s. I’m very thankful for modern biologics treatment. I was in very bad shape when it was diagnosed. I’m mostly back to normal after a couple years of regular biologics infusions.

[@that1snare]

As a person with Crohn’s, this is absolutely fascinating. I wonder if it might help in the ongoing quest for a cure?

[@evilsharkey8954]

I wonder if gene therapy will ever work with immune cells.

[@tailoredGenesis]

I've been diagnosed with two separate autoimmune conditions and will soon undergo procedures to see if I might have an IBD. I both love and hate this new information. Thanks for the video, very informative.

[@Nerrida]

Wow! As a European celiac disease sufferer, this video is very relevant. Nice to know these genes may have done something useful for my ancestors, even if they’re annoying for me in the present age.

[@MonicaLN]

As best I can tell, my celiac wasn't triggered until after I was 40, due to an event that caused extreme stress and a possible viral illness. I'm not sure getting accidentally glutened is worth getting fewer infections or colds but it's nice to know I might be slightly more likely to survive the plague! 😂

[@Reina.Nijinsky]

I have systemic lupus. Ty for this vid! 👏🏼

[@OneCrazyMonkeh]

As someone who has Crohns and Ulcerative Colitis now for 13 years, this is fascinating to hear. As far as we know in my family, I am the only one with an IBD although we don't know too much about our early family history before WW1. So it certainly is interesting to learn about.

[@amanda.2416]

That's actually very interesting. I survived covid-19 sepsis, but after that, my immune system went crazy. Now I have an autoimmune condition and my doctor is investigating for another one.

[@anneautisms5136]

This makes SO MUCH sense cause my brother never ever gets sick despite the fact his girlfriend works at a daycare and has strep all the time, YET he has some weird autoimmune disease where his bowls swell that I can’t pronounce. This also reminds me of that one gene that makes you likely to have cancer but also likely to survive malaria or as you put it “double edge sword.”

[@AstroMoonGoddess]

Woah. I have four autoimmune disorders. Because the only thing strong enough to kick my ass is me. Anyway, I appreciate this video and intend to share it with my specialists.

[@mcclaryconsultingllc7806]

We love you and our prayers are with you!

[@fariesz6786]

"museums who had access to a handful of cemetaries" is a noun phrase i did not expect to ever hear

[@faithstea]

3 years ago there was a video on this channel about autoimmune disorders. I wonder what the studies used there correlate here because it is so fascinating learning more about it. This video is sending me into a research rabbit hole!

[@Klopford]

Me and my mom (and her mom, and her mom…) have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, and my brother has t1 diabetes. Nice to know we descended from plague survivors lol

[@Nemo_Anom]

This helps explain why I hardly ever get colds or flus, and when I do, they're very mild and brief, but I suffer from severe IBS.

[@motionless_horizon]

My mom’s side of the family is very predisposed to autoimmune diseases. Like, every. single. person. has developed one at some point in their life. My grandma: microscopic polyangiitis vasculitis Grandma’s 1st sister: rheumatoid arthritis, and her kids have crohn’s and RA 2nd and 3rd sister: autoimmune ILD Her brother: juvenile arthritis and t1 diabetes My 1st uncle: microscopic polyangiitis vasculitis, his kid has lupus 2nd uncle: t1 diabetes Aunt: heavy-chain deposition disease (she was the 28th person in the world to be diagnosed) My mom: ankylosing spondylitis and lupus Me: myasthenia gravis and ankylosing spondylitis We all have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and 8/11 of us have mast cell activation syndrome. It makes me wonder if there’s a connection between EDS and a predisposition to developing autoimmune diseases. My theory is that it has something to do with mast cells, because mast cells have a lot of collagen, and because of EDS, the collagen we make isn’t stable enough, which leads to unstable mast cells (was told this by my immunologist who treats MCAS.) So I wonder if the instability in our mast cells leads to the immune system being in a “fight or flight” state in some way, and that stressed immune system goes wild and starts fighting our bodies

[@carlyar5281]

That’s really interesting. I also had a Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and have recently developed autoimmune conditions in my 30s. I’ve seen some people say that EDS is autoimmune, which it’s not it’s genetic… but the explanation about mast cells makes a lot of sense. It’s not that EDS is autoimmune, but that maybe EDS makes us more vulnerable to autoimmune conditions because of collagen defect impacting mast cells. 🤔 The link between EDS and MCAS is really strong, so if mast cells are involved in autoimmune conditions then it’s not that big of a stretch. (Pun not initially intended. 😉)

[@Jesterjones9073]

That is interesting. My daughter and sister have been diagnosed with EDS and the specialist is fairly sure I have it too based on a very quick discussion with me and how hypermobile I was as a child and how stretchy my skin is, but if I do have EDS the gene hasn’t expressed itself quite as well as it has for my daughter and sister. My mother remembers her fathers mother as being exceptionally tall, long limbed and very hypermobile, especially her hands so this is where we think it came from. Neither my sister or daughter have an autoimmune disease (and I truly hope it stays that way, and I don’t have enough info about my great grandmother) but I have multiple sclerosis, and scientists know that the Epstein Barr virus is most likely one of the viruses (others are being investigated) implicated in triggering MS (although this is only one part of the MS puzzle). My daughter did get Covid ( I am not sure about my sister as we are estranged) but I haven’t had it despite being exposed to it with my daughter and husband and at work (nursing). Viruses and genes are deeply complicated things, there is much to learn. Thank you for adding this about EDS, interesting to see there could be a relationship between autoimmune illness and EDS.

[@carlyar5281]

@@Jesterjones9073 you make a good point about gene expression. I wonder how much environment plays a role in EDS. Both of my sisters are hypermobile, but neither are diagnosed with EDS. They both work in healthcare and swear they don’t have it. I was in the military for two decades, and despite being hypermobile, I didn’t have any issues until a training accident. The symptoms of my autoimmune conditions started appearing before the accident, and I was diagnosed with psoriasis before the accident. Neither of my sisters have any autoimmune conditions, so I’m wondering if it’s my genetic mutation or if the vastly different work environment explains things. Or both. 🤔

[@Jesterjones9073]

@@carlyar5281 I k ow with EDS it is a genetic fault in the way collagen is made. I am still learning about it, and don’t know if EDS is something you can develop later in life like you can with an autoimmune illness, I am really not too sure. I know that my daughter, sister (both diagnosed with EDS) and myself (not diagnosed with EDS but suspected EDS and I also have the autoimmune disease MS) have been hypermobile all of our lives. It is hard with babies to know because babies and children are usually hypermobile anyway. But with all three of us issues began to be noticed in primary school with pain, clicking joints, etc. With my daughter she her joints started subluxing before teen years and she started to get stretch marks. It is a horrible thing to have. You can have a hypermobile syndrome but not EDS. With my sister and daughter they met all of the criteria for EDS, not just hypermobility. And then there are different forms of EDS; EDS is really just an umbrella term for the different forms of it.

[@motionless_horizon]

@@Jesterjones9073 as far as we know with current science, EDS cannot develop later in life because it’s passed from parent to child, though there are denovo mutations that can happen when the fetus is developing, where they develop the mutation without a family history. Symptoms do become worse over time though, so you can be relatively healthy as a kid, hit puberty, and then all the sudden symptoms can come on worse than they were before. And yes! EDS is the umbrella term for the 13 subtypes. You can have JHSD (joint hypermobility spectrum disorder,) which is similar to EDS but has less full body involvement. There is an autoimmune connective tissue disorder that can develop later, called Mixed Connective Tissue Disorder. I personally am a carrier for dEDS from my mom’s side, and have clEDS/hEDS from my dad’s. I didn’t have many symptoms until I was 12, and they came on so fast and hard that I had to leave school. I was a “healthy” kid, super active, strong, energetic, etc. but had stomach issues, asthma, and was constantly spraining my ankles and wrists. I was 8 and started to have body aches and heart issues, but it was blown off as anxiety. Then puberty started. I developed POTS, MCAS, and gastrointestinal paralysis. My joints got a lot more unstable and painful, immune system issues started, weakness, breathing issues, etc. and then I developed MG. I hope that you’re sister and daughter are doing alright. They’ve got lots and lots of support from the zebra community, and you do too!

[@AudraK]

I have some thyroid issues running in my family but a few years after I got Lyme disease and went through the antibiotics I then had diagnosed anxiety, autoimmune, testosterone, and joint issues. Leading to many years of doctors appointments, medication, cortisone shots, and surgery in both knees. All before I was 25.

[@thelostone6981]

Thanks SciShow because I love this stuff! As a hooman with type one diabetes, I really am curious as to how evolution kept this annoying autoimmune disease around for millennia and why my body tried to kill me. And fun fact$; the Ebers papyrus from @1500 BCE in ancient Egypt is the earliest description of diabetes (that I am aware of) and a test for it from @1500 years ago in India was to urinate on an anthill to see if the ants were attracted to sweet stuff. 😂😂

[@tianamarie989]

When you think about it it's pretty genius how they diagnosed some things way back then. I mean they didn't know what we know now and they were still able to figure things out.

[@snowyowl10]

If it works it works, I guess!

[@angelikaskoroszyn8495]

Better than tasting it I guess

[@andreww2098]

the Romans called it 'The pissing evil', I developed type 1 after I was infected with mumps as a 2 year old! the disease sent my immune system into overdrive and near killed me!

[@starcrib]

Fascinating - ♾️ saves you on the up swing, kills you on the down swing .

[@FC-ds9ve]

What up my Crohnies! Our GI tract hates us but at least we might not get the bubonic plague 😅🎉

[@GinaR21212]

And these autoimmune diseases leave some of us broke living on disability.

[@dixiecup6668]

I have psoriatic arthritis and am very into genealogy. I recently uploaded my DNA to a website that compares your DNA to DNA from archeological sites. One of the sites was in Iceland and from a family farm. Most people in the family had awful arthritis. These are definitely my people 😅

[@alexrogers777]

Great video. This is an important topic and I really like that you went much deeper than surface level stuff

[@pyrogreg8]

That checks out. Barely ever got sick in my life, even tempted fate by hanging around people when they had colds and was always fine. Then during the pandemic lockdown I guess my immune system had nothing holding it back by not being around people and I developed an auto-immune disease that affects my respiratory system

[@raymond_luxury_yacht]

Vaxxed? Seems mRNA is triggering autoimmune

[@Difficultureshock]

Having 2 kids with Crohn's, this was quite fascinating. Thank you for sharing!

[@carlyar5281]

I was recently diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and have psoriasis. I guess I can be grateful that my ancestors survived, and thanks to that I’m here dealing with UC… and still trying to get it under control. But on the bright side, despite my school age children catching COVID twice I never got it infected even though I took care of them if they were sick. Maybe it is related. 🤔

[@carlyar5281]

Apparently, Murphy is a jerk because three days after I wrote this my oldest child came down with a virus which turned out to be COVID, for the first time. Four days later my husband was sick and another four days later was sick and tested positive for COVID. 😞 I should’ve considered the fact that I started oral medication 6 weeks earlier for a UC flare. 🤦‍♀️

[@captainyossarian388]

One of my sweetest and dearest friends had very severe Crohn's and it ended up killing him. He was just in his 40s... and I miss him very much. I hope that medical science can figure out a cure to these autoimmune diseases in the near future.

[@MichaelMarquez-m3b]

Most people seem to have a romantic view of the immune system protecting them from foreign invaders but there are a lot of diseases caused by the immune system when it decides to start attacking other parts of the body. That’s why when you have an inflammatory event you want to shut it down as quickly as possible.

[@KikiRayburn]

Waited a long time for this

[@myobmyob2215]

Centuries. Have waited centuries.

[@Piemasteratron]

That's so interesting! I thought it was because of a genetic bottleneck. But hyperactive immune systems is super cool!

[@evilsharkey8954]

Unless you have one. Then it grande sucks!

[@tyc6268]

It’s not fun, you don’t get sick often but you feel sick because your own body is attacking itself.

[@kmcq692]

This has been something I had been intuitively thinking for years. It’s so satisfying when science says, “yeah, you’re right…you DO have a super powered immune system.”

[@jamesharmer9293]

Isn't there something similar with Sickle Cell disease and defence against Malaria ?

[@verdatum]

Yup!

[@j.k.rector9818]

Having a Scandinavian background, our family has MS, Dermatomyositis, IBD, and Hemolytic Anemia - all autoimmune conditions. Guess our ancestors kicked butt with the black plague…

[@knighttakespawn]

This was a fascinating video! Now I know why I never get flu and I’ve never had Covid!😮

[@brittanypuryear8510]

I finally got Covid in September after having a pretty nasty cold 😂 I was like ok here we go! I’d been around multiple people who had it, but apparently my body finally gave up after getting a cold.

[@Jimgloy]

My wife has had an autoimmune condition known as Adult's Stills Desease. She first came down with it in the mid 80s (her mid 30s) after a serious bout of Strep which was treated then with antibiotics. Initially her symptoms were severe and disturbing: daily fevers, rashes, fatigue. She had several different treatments over the years that helped alleviate her rheumatoid-like symptoms, but compromised her bone density. In the early 2000s she needed to replace both hips and both knees plus fix breaks in both femurs. When COVID came around, she got the vaccines, but her original Stills symptoms hit back hard. Your article answers many questions about this chronic illness. One interesting phenomenon is that her immune system is so strong she has not had cold or flu symptoms for decades and has not had any vaccine other than for shingles or recently COVID and the latter has not been beneficial for her.

[@Hasaki_YT]

I've got Crohn's Disease. It was kicked off by a week of bad drinking habits (7 bottles of mountain dew soda in the span of 8 hours when i was 13). This video has been very enlightening, thx!

[@dawnelder9046]

Getting grains and seed oils have helped me a lot. Gluten intolerant, butter better off not not eating grass products.

[@dawnelder9046]

Can not change your genes, but can change what you eat.

[@lizblock9593]

One theory about the cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is an overactive immune system. Since I got CFS several years ago, I've very rarely had the flu and never got covid. Really most genetic adaptations are trade-offs. The male birds with the most beautiful tails get the girls, but pay by the higher metabolic cost of growing and maintaining those beautiful feathers and also being at greater risk of predation.

[@freya-the-wolf]

Interesting. I have had CFS for almost 4 years now and never had the flu though I did get covid. I do get mildly sick on occasion but usually nothing severe.

[@kwoylee5617]

I got CFS after major surgery, followed by an infection, followed by the flu. I had finally recovered when COVID came around. Never got COVID but I HAVE had my own immune system attacking me for the past 2 years, ever since I got my 3rd booster shot. Plus my CFS came back. Fun.

[@midoriya-shonen]

this is fascinating. and it makes so much sense. thank you!

[@Yanrogue]

my doctor told me that I might have a new type of autoimmune ibd. in the last 6 years I've been to 4 specialist and had 9 colonoscopies. Last one they took 12 samples and now want to do two more to send to a lab in DC. my immune system is a jerk, but at least I might survive the next plague

[@anhleroy]

Dr. Drew has a similar theory on addiction. If I understand correctly the impulse nature and obsession in another situation where there isn’t drugs to be abused results in character traits good for survival so we’re passed on that then become negative traits in another situation. I’m probably not getting it right but it was interesting.

[@RachelsSweetie]

Dying from the plague would be preferable to the MS I have now which has left me physically and cognitively disabled in a country where healthcare is not a human right.

[@SirFloofy001]

5:10 interesting. I believe it was you guys (SciShow) that did a video on it (if not its interesting) but bacteria have a similar gene for protecting against bacteriophages. The better they are at protecting against a bacteriophage the worse they are at surviving antibiotics and vice versa.

[@Darxide23]

Cool. But how does this help us cure it? My sisters and I all suffer from various degrees of RA/Psoriasis/Psoriatic Arthritis/Scleroderma/and a half dozen other related secondary disorders.

[@EllyCatfox]

I like how this video has 667k views and the channel has 7.78M subs.

[@verdatum]

Cannot believe Hank didn't get to cover this one. If ya know, ya know.

[@donnaanselmo7626]

I thought the same thing!