article-type : Review Articles
Review Articles
Considering the Safety of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines in Patients with Aneuploidy
Volume 1, No 4
Martin J. McCaffrey
The advent of the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines heralds a transformation in the world of immunization. The use of mRNA to stimulate antigenic foreign protein synthesis by host cells, which triggers an immune reaction that repels future true infection, has been theorized for decades. The COVID-19 vaccines represent the first mass deployment of this genetic technology. Using modified mRNA sequences for the COVID-19 spike protein, delivered in a lipid nanoparticle vehicle, injection with the COVID-19 vaccine is intended to recruit host cells that manufacture the spike protein and generate an immune response that protects against future infection.
Review Articles
Preventing Cancer: The ROOT Protocols
Volume 1, No 4
Paul Marik, Justus Hope
In 2022, approximately 20 million new cancer cases and 9.7 million cancer deaths occurred worldwide. By 2050, new cases are projected to double, driven by population growth, aging, and increased exposure to risk factors. Up to 40% of cancers may be preventable by addressing lifestyle and environmental risk factors. Numerous nutraceuticals and repurposed drugs exhibit chemoprophylactic properties.
Review Articles
A Holistic Approach to Improve Metabolic Health: A Practical Review
Volume 1, No 4
Pei Harris, Joseph Varon
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) poses a significant health risk in developed countries like the United States, linked to poor diet, inactivity, aging, and genetic factors. It increases the likelihood of serious health issues, such as atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), type 2 diabetes (T2DM), and cognitive impairment.
Review Articles
Beyond the Dead Donor Rule: Medicine, Ethics, and the Future of Organ Procurement
Volume 1, No 4
Joseph Varon, Matthew Halma
Organ transplantation, one of the most remarkable achievements of modern medicine, is deeply rooted in definitions of death that are both medically complex and ethically contested. This narrative review explores how brain death and the dead donor rule (DDR) have shaped the practice of organ procurement, while also highlighting persistent controversies that continue to challenge clinicians, policymakers, and ethicists. Through a review of 56 peer-reviewed publications, we examine the variability in brain death determination, advances in donor management, and the promising emergence of Donation after Circulatory Determination of Death (DCDD).
Review Articles
Vaccine-Induced Viral Reactivation and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Review, Hypothesis, and Implications
Volume 1, No 4
Matthew Cormier
Understanding the origins of autism spectrum disorder is imperative given its increasing prevalence and significant global impact. This review examines existing research on the role of viral infections in the etiology of autism and scrutinizes emerging data on post-vaccination viral reactivation. It introduces a novel hypothesis that vaccines may inadvertently reactivate latent viral infections, triggering the onset or exacerbation of autism. Through a comprehensive literature review across multiple medical databases, this review analyzed studies, case reports, and observational research focusing on viral infections, post-vaccination viral reactivation, and autism. This search yielded 13 studies implicating viral infections and viral encephalitis as potential causal factors in the development of autism spectrum disorder. Moreover, 17 studies were identified, suggesting an association of viral reactivation following vaccination. This connection raises important questions about the role of vaccines in the onset of autism. The findings advocate for continued vigilance in vaccine safety research, particularly concerning neurodevelopmental disorders.
Review Articles
A Non-Isolated Call for Rigor: The History of The ‘Anti-Vaccination Movement’ and Its Path to Legitimacy
Volume 1, No 4
Matthew Halma, Joseph Varon
A forking road exists for the medical freedom movement, with two routes leading to marginalization and ineffectiveness, and the other leading to professionalism and broader uptake. Professional standards lack in the medical freedom movement (MFM), that broad constellation of voices elevated due to public interest during COVID-19. While gradual, institutional science has started to acknowledge once controversial topics like vaccine injury, and those with injuries can start to see hope. Still, many people insist on taking an approach that will lead to its marginalization by institutional players, both justified (in the case of lax scientific standards) and unjustified (in the case of censorship), to their detriment. The way forward requires rigour, scientific contribution, and upholding professional standards.
Review Articles
Palliative Care in Iraq: A Health Systems Imperative for Equity in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Settings
Volume 1, No 4
Santiago Herrero
Palliative care in Iraq remains severely underdeveloped, despite growing recognition of its critical role in alleviating the suffering of patients with terminal illnesses. Structural limitations, socio-cultural barriers, and political instability continue to undermine its accessibility and integration into the national health system.
Review Articles
Nucleoside-Modified RNA and Lipid Nanoparticles for "Therapeutic" Use – A Review for Lay People
Volume 1, No 3
Jessica Rose
This accessible review demystifies nucleoside‑modified RNA–lipid nanoparticle (modRNA–LNP) technology, the platform behind COVID‑19 vaccines. It explains how modRNA–LNPs deliver synthetic mRNA to cells, summarizes concerns about rushed clinical trials, waning effectiveness and adverse events, and discusses unanswered questions about long‑term safety and regulatory oversight.
Review Articles
COVID-19 mRNA-Induced "Turbo Cancers"
Volume 1, No 3
Paul Marik, Justus Hope
This review examines reports of unusually aggressive 'turbo cancers' emerging after mass COVID‑19 mRNA vaccination. Drawing on VAERS safety signals and mechanistic studies, the authors describe a multi‑hit hypothesis in which spike protein–mediated metabolic reprogramming, cancer stem‑cell propagation, apoptosis resistance and immune dysregulation may drive rapid tumor growth, and suggest that metabolic and repurposed therapies warrant further research.
Review Articles
Built Different: Functional Sleep Deprivation and the Elite Physician Phenotype
Volume 1, No 3
Joseph Varon
This narrative review explores whether some elite physicians can maintain high performance despite chronic sleep deprivation. Reviewing literature from sleep medicine, neuroscience and critical care, it identifies genetic and neuroplastic adaptations underlying a short‑sleep phenotype, but warns that sustained sleep loss still carries cognitive and physiological risks and urges healthcare systems to reevaluate cultures that normalize extreme endurance.
