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• Mold toxins suppress the human immune system and provide a substantial challenge for people with chronic illnesses.
• Molds are invasive and versatile fungi that grow both indoors and outdoors.
• Warm, damp, and humid environments are ideal for mold growth.
• A mold illness called “sick building syndrome” often results from chronic exposure to mold in water-damaged buildings. 
• The immune system provides protection from dangerous pathogens.
• The innate immune function recognizes common mold and other microbial characteristics and nonspecifically defends against them.
• The adaptive immune function recognizes specific mold and microbial components called antigens and can make antibodies against them.
• White blood cells, called lymphocytes, carry out adaptive immune responses.
• Mold toxins, also called mycotoxins, have immunosuppressive properties.
• Key elements of the immune system are the spleen, lymph nodes, bone marrow, and white blood cells.
• Mold allergies and mold toxicity are two separate illnesses.
• Mycotoxins are known as biotoxins since they are poisonous substances produced by living organisms.
• Mold illness occurs when mycotoxins affect a body adversely, leading to chronic symptoms.
• Mycotoxin exposure comes from ingestion, dermal transmission, and inhalation.
• Mold toxins are extremely potent and often affect nearly every organ system in the body.
• Diseases caused by mycotoxins are called mycotoxicoses. Acute mycotoxicoses can cause severe and occasionally fatal diseases.
• Many mold species can lurk inside your home, including Aspergillus, Alternaria, Stachybotrys, Memnoniella, and Cladosporium.
• There is a genetic susceptibility to mold toxicity in about 25 percent of the population.
• HLA genes predispose people to biotoxin illness. These people need increased drainage and detoxification support.
• Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) is a widespread inflammatory response to biotoxins, including mycotoxins, within the body.
• Options for the relief of mold illness are often incomplete unless mold is eradicated from your body and environment.
• HLA gene susceptibility prevents the secretion of mycotoxins.
• People with HLA genes and chronic illness will most likely need help from additional therapies to heal fully.

Article Summary:

Mold illness is a dangerous, and possibly deadly, adversary. Mold toxins can alter the defense system of their host. Mold is especially problematic for people who are suffering from other chronic illnesses such as Lyme disease and other pathogen-borne illnesses. People with chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, immune disorders, and other health conditions are also at risk from the adverse effects of molds. Children, pregnant women and the elderly are also particularly vulnerable to mold exposure.

Molds are fungi that can grow on almost any surface. They thrive in moist, warm, and humid conditions, indoors and outdoors. Molds are invasive and versatile. As they reproduce, they release tiny, microscopic spores that are carried in the air. Spores can travel on people and animals as well. Spores germinate and form new mold colonies.

Mold illness often results from chronic exposure to mold in water-damaged buildings. This condition, associated with damp indoor environments, has become known as “sick building syndrome.” The World Health Organization acknowledges “diverse and inflammatory toxic responses after exposure to microorganisms isolated from damp buildings, including their spores, metabolites, and components.”

Mold Illness and the Immune System

Our immune systems protect us from dangerous pathogens, like bacteria, including Lyme’s Borrelia burgdorferi, parasites, viruses, and fungi (including mold). It shields us from the harmful substances we encounter, including environmental toxins, heavy metals, biotoxins, and more.

The immune system is made up of made up of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to keep invaders in check. The immune system works to keep pathogens out of the body. It also detects and destroys harmful microorganisms and substances that manage to make their way past our defenses.

The immune system has an innate faction, which recognizes common mold and other microbial characteristics and nonspecifically defends against them. It also has an adaptive faction, which recognizes specific mold and microbial components called antigens.

White blood cells, called lymphocytes, carry out adaptive immune responses. There are two broad classes of these responses: cell-mediated immune responses and antibody responses. They are carried out by different types of lymphocytes, called T cells and B cells, respectively.

In the cell-mediated immune response, activated T cells take direct action against foreign antigens. T cells might kill an infected or toxic host cell. Or, the T cell might produce a signal molecule that activates macrophages which engulf and destroy invaders, toxins, and cellular debris.

Activated B cells secrete antibodies–proteins called immunoglobulins. The antibodies circulate in the system, where they bind specifically to the foreign antigens, inactivating the mold biotoxins. As a result, the biotoxins can no longer bind to receptors on host cells.

Mold toxins have immunosuppressive properties. Ongoing exposure can even destroy your immune system, including your lymphoid tissue and bone marrow.

Key elements of the immune system include:

Spleen

The spleen is a fist-sized organ located in the upper left abdomen. It has a blood-filtering function. It recognizes and removes old, malformed, or unhealthy red blood cells. Large white blood cells, called macrophages, are stored here. They specialize in destroying the damaged red blood cells.

Your spleen helps your body fight infection. Just as it quality checks red blood cells, your spleen can identify unwelcome pathogens in your blood. In conjunction with the lymph nodes, it creates an organized force of defender cells called lymphocytes. Lymphocytes are specific white blood cells that produce antibodies.

Antibodies are proteins that can weaken or kill harmful germs that cause infection. Also, both antibodies and white blood cells can stop infections from spreading through the body by trapping microorganisms and destroying them.

Mycotoxins, called macrocyclic trichothecenes, have been isolated in the spleen of chronic illness patients exposed to mold.¹ Macrocyclic trichothecenes are mycotoxin compounds produced by various mold species, including the well-known “black mold,” Stachybotrys chartarum.

Lymph Nodes

These are nodes, vessels, and tissues located throughout the body, including in the neck, armpits, abdomen, and groin. The lymph nodes help break down harmful germs. Also, they filter toxins for removal from the body in lymph fluid. White blood cells contained in the lymph nodes help fight infection.

Trichothecene mycotoxins cause apoptosis (cellular suicide) and/or necrosis (cellular death) of lymphoid cells. T-2 toxin, a metabolite produced by various species of Fusarium mold, causes impairment of immune response.² It kills lymphoid cells and can reduce the function of the innate immune system.

Bone Marrow

Bone marrow is the spongy tissue located inside some of the bones in the body, such as the hip and thigh bones. Bone marrow makes 200 billion new red blood cells every day.³ It also produces white blood cells and platelets. If the bone marrow isn’t functioning well and produces abnormal white blood cells, those cells may be unable to fight infection.

T-2 mycotoxin has been shown to be toxic to cells in the bone marrow, leading to cell death. Fusarium mycotoxin suppresses the production of blood cells and platelets in the bone marrow.⁴ Bone marrow damage caused by mycotoxins can lead to aplastic anemia, a disease characterized by failure of the bone marrow to make enough new blood cells.⁵

White Blood Cells

The bone marrow produces white blood cells, or leukocytes. These are crucial for a healthy immune system. They fight and protect against infections. They are stored in the spleen, the bone marrow, and the lymph nodes. White blood cells can circulate throughout the body. They collect in areas where there is an infection.

Some types of white blood cells are:

• Lymphocytes
• Macrophages
• Monocytes
• Granulocytes
• Neutrophils
• Basophils
• Eosinophils

Mycotoxins can significantly impair the antibody production of the adaptive immune system.  They can reduce the growth and spread of lymphocytes. Additionally, they can curb the development of dendritic cells, the messengers between the innate and the adaptive immune systems. Mycotoxins can influence memory T cells (a subset of infection- and cancer-fighting T cells) and can have an adverse effect on the response mediated by B lymphocytes.⁶

Trichothecenes are known to target granulocyte, monocyte, and erythrocyte colony-forming cells.⁷ They are documented to diminish immunoglobulins, proteins present in the serum and cells of the immune system that function as antibodies. Cytokines, substances secreted by certain cells of the immune system which have an effect on other cells, are also reduced.

Mold Toxicity vs. Mold Allergies

Mold illness can be confusing. Mold allergies and mold toxicity are two separate illnesses. They cause different reactions in the body and can produce distinct effects. Mold allergies are generally caused by inhaled mold spores. They illicit symptoms similar to those of hay fever.

Mold toxicity, on the other hand, is caused by volatile organic compounds (VOCs), toxic vapors dispersed by mold. Inhalation of VOCs provides a rapid entry into the systemic circulation, creating toxic effects downstream. Uptake of VOCs through the skin is also possible.⁸ A chronic inflammatory response results from exposure to mold VOCs.

Many of the mold VOCs are odorless, but others have the typical and recognizable  “musty” smell. If there is a musty odor in a particular area of a home or building, there is probably mold growing there, even if it’s not overtly visible.

Mold Illness and Mycotoxins

Some molds produce toxic compounds called mycotoxins. These compounds are known as biotoxins since they are poisonous substances produced by living organisms. Mold toxicity occurs when mycotoxins affect a body adversely, leading to chronic symptoms.

Some common types of mycotoxins include:

• Aflatoxins
• Ochratoxins
• Trichothecenes

OF NOTE: Mycotoxins are considered carcinogenic and potentially deadly.

Mycotoxin exposure comes from ingestion of food contaminated with mycotoxins, dermal transmission, and inhalation. Mold toxins are extremely potent and often affect nearly every organ system in your body. Diseases caused by mycotoxins are called mycotoxicoses. Acute mycotoxicoses can cause serious and occasionally fatal diseases.

Molds Can Lurk Inside Your Home

Most homes contain some species of mold. Unfortunately, it’s pretty much unavoidable. Some species are more likely to grow indoors than others. Each species has individual characteristics and health hazards.

Several of the most common mold species found in homes include:

Aspergillus

This is a common mold, both indoors and outdoors. Many species are of Aspergillus are harmless or mildly allergenic. Yet, some of them are known to present a severe health risk to humans. They have been linked to both a chronic and acute disease and infection, called aspergillosis.

Aspergillus is attracted to dust. Therefore, it can often be found in areas of dust buildup. When small Aspergillus spores are inhaled, they can trigger an immune response in the body producing symptoms including fever, coughing, and asthma attacks.

Aspergillus flavus produces aflatoxin that can suppress macrophage (white blood cell) function.⁹ Aspergillus ochraceus produces ochratoxin that is known to be toxic to lymphocytes. It also suppresses many functions of lymphocytes, monocytes, and granulocytes.

Aspergillus fumigatus is the major species associated with aspergillosis and produces aflatoxins and gliotoxins. Gliotoxins have a variety of immunosuppressive actions.¹⁰ They inhibit the activation and growth of T-cell numbers. Furthermore, they decrease macrophage phagocytic action, the process by which a white blood cell engulfs and digests microbes, cancer cells, foreign substances, and cellular debris. Additionally, they may suppress and cause apoptosis in certain other cells of the immune system, including neutrophils, eosinophils, granulocytes, and thymocytes.

Alternaria

This fungus is highly allergenic. It’s abundant during the spring allergy season and through late fall. Up to 70% of mold allergy patients react to a skin test for this species of mold.¹¹ Airborne Alternaria spores are implicated in rhinitis, bronchial asthma, and can lead to severe and potentially fatal asthma. It has also been shown to cause skin diseases, particularly in immunocompromised patients.

Stachybotrys

Stachybotrys (a.k.a. black mold) is a dangerous mold species common in indoor environments. It has a slimy, black or dark green appearance. It grows on common household surfaces, especially those with cellulose materials. It grows on walls, ceilings, and floorboards and emits a distinctive musty odor.

Stachybotrys is extremely toxic. It produces trichothecene, a potent mycotoxin. Exposure to Stachybotrys mycotoxin can lead to headaches, asthma, dizziness, joint pain, and in extreme cases, cancer.

Trichothecenes are found in many more fungal species including Fusarium, Myrothecium, Phomopsis, Trichoderma, and Trichothecium. Trichothecene mycotoxins are common contaminants of food and feed animal feed, particularly grains. They have an immunosuppressive action that leads to decreased resistance to infectious microbes.¹²

Memnoniella

Memnoniella mold is often linked with the toxic Stachybotrys mold. Unfortunately, if black mold is present, green and black-colored Memnoniella is likely to be found as well. It typically grows in damp areas like basements and bathrooms. Furthermore, it has an affinity for canvas, cotton, wool, walls, and ceilings.

This mold produces similar toxins and the same type of symptoms in humans as Stachybotrys mold. Memnoniella has a smaller particle size than black mold. It readily penetrates the lining of the lungs, causing respiratory problems, headaches, and coughing.

Penicillium

Penicillium mold naturally produces the antibiotic penicillin, yet is still known to be allergenic. Water-damaged areas provide the perfect environment for Penicillium growth. Contact with this mold and its spores can create a typical immune response with congestion, coughing, and eye weeping. A severe anaphylactic reaction is also possible. It can irritate the stomach if ingested. High levels are associated with the development of several lung disorders.

Some Penicillium species produce toxic metabolites. Penicillium crustosum produces a tremor-inducing mycotoxin called penitrem A. Penicillium verrucosum is known to produce ochratoxin A.¹³ Kidney toxicity, kidney disease, and tumors are known health issues associated with ochratoxin A exposure.¹⁴

Cladosporium

Cladosporium is a common household mold that grows in both warm and cool environments. There are many different species of Cladosporium, typically appearing as gray, brown, or black discolorations. This mold is generally found on food, dead plant matter, insulation, wood, and dark, damp environments like basements.

Cladosporium can trigger severe allergic reactions and is a threat to people with asthma, allergies, and weakened immune systems. It is also associated with sinus and eye infections, sneezing, coughing, and postnasal drip.

Mold Illness and Genetic Susceptibility

There is a genetic susceptibility to mold toxicity. It is estimated that about 25 percent of the population have this genetic vulnerability.¹⁵ These people have an immune response gene, named HLA-DR (human leukocyte antigen). It is more difficult for them to excrete mycotoxins and other biotoxins than people without this gene variant. People with mold susceptibility genes are far more likely to have an adverse reaction to mold when exposed to it in quantity.

It is likely that the majority of people with a chronic illness such as Lyme disease or mold illness will have HLA genes which predispose them to biotoxin illness. They will need increased drainage and detoxification support as part of their broader treatment protocols. It’s important to keep in mind that even if people have compromised HLA genes, they often respond well to appropriate treatment.

Mold Illness and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome

Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) is a widespread inflammatory response to biotoxins within the body. CIRS typically leads to both immune and hormonal dysfunction. It is a complex and chronic health issue where many factors contribute to varied symptoms in multiple body systems.¹⁶ It is especially seen in people with the HLA genetic susceptibility.

In susceptible people, the innate faction of the immune system recognizes the mold toxins (biotoxins) and continues to signal the adaptive faction of the immune system. However, the adaptive immune system cannot recognize the mold toxins so it will not make antibodies against them. The innate immune system is then continually triggered, becomes overactive, and creates an ongoing load of inflammation.

Some of the symptoms associated with CIRS include:

• Brain fog, memory issues, cognitive and focus difficulties
• Mood swings
• Digestive problems
• Fatigue; weakness
• Frequent urination; excessive thirst; dehydration
• Weight gain
• Muscle and joint pain
• Blurry vision; light sensitivity
• Postnasal drip; sore throat
• Numbness; tingling
• Tinnitus
• Static shocks
• Dizziness
• Metallic taste in the mouth
• Low-grade fever
• Shortness of breath
• Headache

Mold Illness Treatment and Protocols

Options for relief of mold illness are often incomplete unless mold is eradicated from your body and environment. This is true for both mold allergy and mold toxicity-related issues. If you have the HLA gene susceptibility that prevents you from excreting mycotoxins, you will most likely need help from additional therapies to clear them from your system.

If you have Lyme or chronic illness or suspect that you are being affected by or are genetically susceptible to mold mycotoxins, my At-Home Program can give you specific advice and healing protocols. There is also ample advice on ridding your home of mold. 

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