Letters from readers:

Grape poisoning -
what in the world?

I FIND this topic fascinating. The first time I heard this reported, I said "What?" just like the rest of you. "I have been feeding my dogs grapes for years without incidence" I said. "Why would something that has so many health benefits in people (minus the pesticide residues) cause so much trouble in dogs?" I guess many would leave that question unanswered or be content with the list of possible explanations and simply stop feeding grapes to dogs. But, after five years of pretty intense medical research, studying everything from Alzheimer's to zinc deficiency, I had to give it my best shot.

And here it is: First of all, what do we know? We know that there have been very few reported cases. There have probably been more but these would have been written off as something else like antifreeze intoxication or immune glomerulonephritis. We also know that the dose of the raisins or grapes ranged from a large quantity to a quite small amount. This is a big key. This makes poisoning very unlikely. And if it were a poison, they would have been able to ID the toxin one would think. Plus, most pesticides affect the liver not the kidneys, but the kidneys seem to be the target organ - another key fact!

What is one of the most common causes of death of older dogs and cats? Kidney failure. What is the most common cause of kidney failure? Chronic immune glomerulonephritis. What is the cause of immune glomerulonephritis? Ahhh, now there is where it gets interesting. Most would say that it is "idiopathic". Unfortunately, the consensus of opinion is that this "idiopathic" form of kidney failure is an autoimmune disorder, in which the immune system goes haywire and attacks the body's tissues for no reason. "Its a genetic thing" is what is often said.

I contend that the body does not make that kind of mistake...ever! The immune system never attacks the body "for no reason". There is something in that tissue that it doesn't like...some foreign protein that has taken up residence in that tissue. What would be there? The usual suspects...viruses, mycoplasma, food proteins, lectins (http://www.krispin.com/lectin.html), bacteria, yeast and others. Actually, this has been suspected to be the case for years.

Viruses are known to inhabit many of our tissues, lying dormant for years, sometimes lifetimes, just waiting for an opportunity to pop up and cause trouble.Great examples are herpes, shingles, and even AIDS. Many cancers are known to be viral now. When did we acquire these guys? Could some of them have been there since birth, even transmitted from mother to offspring? We know that this happens, too. Could this explain genetic cancers? Why do so many immune-related disorders have remitting/relapsing symptoms? Sounds sort of like a herpes virus infection, doesn't it?

Did you know that plants contain viruses? Have you looked into what GMO's really are (if not, this will shock you)? The fact is that viruses are ubiquitous in nature. A single teaspoon of sea water contains over a billion viruses. Viruses are essential in nature, being responsible for adaptation by living things and variation in nature. Viruses mutate and adapt.

In the cat, there is a viral condition known as FIP. What an interesting condition. It starts with the cat contracting the FIP virus (a corona virus). The infection is usually either inapparent or a mild upper respiratory infection that the cat quickly suppresses. But, the virus sometimes disseminates (spreads) throughout the body, setting up housekeeping in various tissues (liver, kidneys, brain, eyes, lining of the chest, abdomen, etc. Then, upon subsequent exposure to the virus OR another FIP-like virus the immune response to the new virus spills over into the tissue where the original virus is located and the immune system attacks that tissue with the old virus in it. This is the known mechanism for FIP, with the symtoms arising from the immune response to the virus in the tissue and the subsequent death of some of that tissue. What a great example of autoimmunity. Sounds sort of like "friendly fire", doesn't it?

So you probably see where I am going with this now. What if the grapes or raisins contain a virus...a plant virus...that is similar to the one already in the kidneys of the dog that eats those grapes or raisins? After all, many dogs are bound to have viruses in their kidneys already. And we now know from conditions like FIP that one of the mechanisms of immune-mediated disease is re-exposure to a virus (or vaccine) with the cascade of events described above taking place.

So, I could easily believe that the grape poisoning is an acute, immune-mediated reaction to a plant virus that resembles one already in the kidney of the affected dog. That would explain much, wouldn't it? It would explain the low incidence, the low dose of grapes or raisins required, the rapid course of the illness, and the fact that all tests have failed to identify the culprit. Viruses can be hard to identify and isolate, can't they? If they weren't, we would have a much better handle on our "idiopathic" immune-mediated diseases for one thing.

Why do I find this fascinating? Because I see the real danger in GMOs as do many knowledgeable scientists. When did we presume we could mess with Nature in this way? - DogtorJ (abridged)