Dr. Weeks’ Comment: I have long endorsed high dose vitamin A palmitate to prevent coming down with the flu. I have written review papers on this topic. At the first sign of getting sick, people take 10 times the daily dose of this agent and repeat at bedtime with the typical result being that they dodged the bullet and feel great in the morning. Now we have a great peer-reviewed scientific article brought to my attention by another Dr. Weeks (Sara Weeks D.O.) which enhances our understanding of the mechanism of action.
Contra-Indication: We do NOT give this treatment to women who are pregnant as theoretically, this high dose can be dangerous to a developing fetus).
Concluding remarks
“We first identified that vitamin A administration
effectively inhibited murine norovirus replication in
vitro and in vivo. Moreover, vitamin A modulated the
composition of gut microbiota; the increase in the
relative abundance of Lactobacillus sp was remarkable
after murine norovirus infection during vitamin A
administration. Finally, we demonstrated the antiviral
efficacy of Lactobacillus sp from in vitro experiments
of the inhibitory effect of Lactobacillus treatment on
murine norovirus replication; IFN-b signaling was
involved in antiviral immune response (Fig. 1).
Although the identified Lactobacillus sp should be
evaluated further in human, we expect that a remarkable
antiviral effect on norovirus is highly likely with
these potential probiotics. Furthermore, the modulation
of gut microbiota could be used as a novel strategy
to control various viral infectious diseases.”
Here is the entire article: