Helps restores your natural immune resistance to hospital infections, bacteria and viruses

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Finvita® Beta Glucan and Hospital Infections

Scientific evidence from laboratory and clinical studies show that an immune system primed with yeast beta glucans are better able to cope with hospital infections such as MRSA.

The yeast beta glucans can support your natural defences, by using its highly efficient strategy originally developed for killing fungus and yeast to also help destroy bacteria and viruses as well... more.

How Finvita® Beta Glucan can help

In the same way we take external measures to reduce our risk of catching or spreading disease, such as covering our nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing - taking Finvita® Beta Glucan should be viewed as an internal way to help maintain your vitality and a healthy immune system - priming your resistance to viruses and bacteria for when external measures have failed. An effective immune system is necessary for example, when we are under stress or at risk from hospital acquired infections.

Clinical Trials

Wellmune WGP® was recently the subject of a clinical trial on forty healthy adult subjects aged between 18 and 65 with half of the test subjects taking the supplement and half using a placebo during the cold and flu season.

While there were no significant differences between the Wellmune WGP® group and the placebo group in terms of incidence of infection during the 90 day study, none of the test subjects in the former missed school or work due to colds, while test subjects in the latter missed an average of 1.38 days. The Wellmune WGP® group also had a significantly lower fever score.

Beta Glucans and Cancer

The beneficial effects of yeast beta glucans on tumours has been known for decades. Imprime PGG, a Phase II cancer drug candidate based on the same beta glucan found in Finvita is currently undergoing clinical trials in colorectal and lung cancer patients in the USA.

Selected references

Feldman S. et al (2009) Randomised Phase II Clinical Trials of Wellmune WGP® for Immune Support During the Cold and Flu Season. The Journal of Applied Research, Vol 9, No. 1 and 2, 30-42.

Jung K. et al (2004) Antiviral Effect of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Beta-Glucan to Swine Influenza Virus by Increased Production of Interferon-Gamma and Nitric Oxide. The Journal of Veterinary Medicine. B, Infectious Diseases and Veterinary Public Health, Mar; 51(2): 72-6.

Hong F. et al (2004) Mechanism by which Orally Administered Beta-1, 3-Glucans Enhance the Tumoricidal Activity of Antitumour Monoclonal Antibodies in Murine Tumor Models. The Journal of Immunology, 173: 797-806.

Li B. et al (2006) Yeast Beat Glucan Amplifies Phagocyte Killing of iC3b Opsonised Tumor Cells via Complement Receptor 3-Syk-Phosphatidylinositol 3 Kinase Pathway. The Journal of Immunology, 177:1661-1669.

Also;

Guide to Hospital Infections
The Hospital Infection Society Home
Treatment of Hospital Infections
Latest news on MRSA, C diff and other hospital infections
Hospital Infections cost £1bn a year
Hospital infections 'kill 10,000 a year'
Nosocomial infection
Eight in 10 hospital infections going unreported 'because of Government targets'
Hospital-Acquired Infections:eMedicine Pediatrics

Further references are available on request

Also see www.betaglucan.org.uk for the latest scientific papers - updated daily...

What is Beta(1,3)(1,6)Glucan?

Beta Glucans are complex carbohydrates (chemical compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen) found in plants, yeast, fungi, oats, barley and some bacteria – but, crucially, not humans – and which are proven to be biological response modifiers ie they can change the way the human body functions.

Depending on the complexity of the molecule’s structure, carbohydrates are grouped into three different types – monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides. Beta Glucans are polysaccharides, the most complex form of carbohydrate. Polysaccharides are formed when simple carbohydrates join together in long chains or branching structures.

These molecular structures determine how Beta Glucans interact with cells of your immune system and can vary immensely. It is therefore a specific type of Beta Glucan – Beta (1,3)(1,6) Glucan – which is the active ingredient in Finvita® Beta Glucan where (1,3)(1,6) refers to unique type of branching structures.

Beta Glucan Research

Finvita® Beta Glucan

Wellmune WGP® manufactured by Biothera is the key ingredient in Finvita® Beta Glucan.

Wellmune WGP® was developed following 12 years of rigorous scientific and clinical research and an investment of $250million.

Wellmune WGP® is a patented Beta (1,3)(1,6) Glucan, isolated from the cell walls of yeast, which is clinically proven to activate your innate immune system.

Why does it work?

As the human immune system evolved it became very adept at killing yeast and other fungal infections by recognising certain molecules that commonly occur on the cell surface of these challengers.

One such identifier is Beta (1,3)(1,6) Glucan.

When a fungus or yeast enters your body they are initially the target of antibodies, which bind to them. The antibodies then attract blood proteins – called complement – to also bind to the target.

The complement acts as a warning signal, attracting neutrophils, the most abundant immune cell in your body, to the area under attack.

Special receptors on the surface of the neutrophils bind to both the complement – which itself is already attached to the fungus or yeast cell – and Beta (1,3)(1,6) Glucan, found in the enemy’s cell walls.

The neutrophil’s receptors must bind to both the complement and the Beta (1,3)(1,6) Glucan in order for it to recognise the target cell as being a foreign body which it will then kill, either through a burst of energy producing toxic chemicals or phagocytosis.

However, many pathogens (disease causing agents) entering your body do not have Beta (1,3)(1,6) Glucan on their cell surface, which is integral to triggering this natural killing mechanism.

How does our immune system work?

Your immune system can be though as being made up of two parts:

1. Acquired immunity

Your acquired immune system is concerned with the development of antibodies (protein molecules that identify and neutralize foreign objects) produced in response to specific pathogens (disease-causing agents such as virus or bacteria) in order to fight off infection.

Although acquired immunity is highly efficient at protecting you from diseases that you have been exposed to previously, either naturally through infection or artificially through immunisation, the system can take weeks to produce an effective response to a threat it has not previously encountered.

This weakness is exacerbated when contending with pathogens such as the flu virus which can rapidly mutate or with resistant bacteria such as MRSA and hospital infections.

2. Innate immunity

This is your first line of defence against infection and doesn’t require previous exposure to a particular pathogen (disease-causing agents such as virus or bacteria) in order to protect you, or the production of disease specific antibodies.

Your innate immune system relies instead on different types of white blood cells to recognise and destroy pathogens as they enter the body. For example, macrophages and neutrophils are innate immune cells which engulf, kill and ‘eat’ pathogens using enzymes and acids, a process called phagocytosis.

With emerging superbugs such as NMD-1 being incredibly resistant to even the strongest antibiotics, supporting our innate immune system with natural supplements such as the beta glucans could be an effective way to help keep our immune systems primed to react to superbugs as well as other bacterial, viral and yeast infections.

In summary, your acquired immune system produces a tailored response to a particular pathogen while the innate immune system provides a rapid reaction force to any bacteria or viruses but without these yeast beta glucans your immune system may not be as effective.

Wellmune WGP®

Taken orally, Wellmune WGP® passes through your stomach and is the right size for uptake through the Peyer's patches which are specialized regions of your small intestine. Here, macrophages (another type of immune cell) digest Wellmune WGP® into smaller fragments and slowly release them over a number of days.

Video: How does Wellmune work? - click here

These fragments of beta glucan bind to neutrophils via their complement receptor - priming them for activity. This means that when the neutrophils travel to the site of an infection they already have one of the two connections in place that are required to kill an intruder.

With the connection to Beta (1,3)(1,6) Glucan already made, neutrophils need to simply bind to the complement attached to the foreign intruder to begin killing them.

In other words, Wellmune WGP®, the active ingredient in Finvita® Beta Glucan, harnesses the innate immune system’s highly efficient strategy for killing fungus and yeast to destroy other pathogens that have invaded the body.