New research recently published by the doctors at the Royal Free Hospital claims to be a significant discovery in understanding (and potentially treating) inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and possibly other autoimmune diseases (Royal Free NHS London Foundation Trust, 2024, June 5; Stankey, et al., 2024).[1] So let's take a closer look.

​The ETS2 gene drives inflammation in the intestines through its role as a central regulator of inflammatory responses in macrophages, a type of immune cell that plays a critical role in the body's immune defense and inflammation processes.

Our paleo ancestors evolved as hunter gatherers and experienced stress in various forms. They learned to deal with the stress of hunger when times were lean, and locating food was difficult. They learned to live with the stress imposed by extreme cold, and excessive heat. 
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And they learned to deal with the stress imposed by other predators, despite the fact that some of them were larger and stronger, naturally aggressive, and viewed humans as a dinner menu item. Our paleo ancestors learned to either outrun, outfight, or outsmart other predators in order to prevent being eaten themselves.

​Prescription drugs in the U.S. cost several times as much as they do in other countries of the world. Yet unlike other industries, the drug industry continues to escape heavy-handed government regulation.

​The unique situation in which pharmaceutical companies in the United States can set virtually any price for their products, unlike most other manufacturers, results from a combination of regulatory, economic, and political factors. And those reasons are listed at the beginning of this article.

​The COVID-19 pandemic revealed that our health systems around the world are severely limited by many vulnerabilities. But it also offered valuable lessons that, if heeded, could better prepare us for future outbreaks. Unfortunately, as we emerge from the shadows of the Covid 19 pandemic, signs indicate that we may not be as ready for the next pandemic as we should be. ​
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The next pandemic could be right around the corner, driven by factors such as global travel, urbanization, climate change, and zoonotic diseases. Despite the eye-opening lessons that we should have learned from our recent experience, the medical community and the world at large remain inadequately prepared for the next virus based crisis.