Molecular mimicry is when a germ's surface looks too much like our own tissues, so the immune army gets confused and attacks our own heart. In rheumatic fever, the strep throat bacteria's proteins mimic heart valves, causing damage. We see this more in our young patients here, a heavy reminder in our own data.
This truth sits with me as I ride, my old knees complaining on the bad road, thinking how a confused defense, like a monsoon flood taking the wrong path, can ruin the very thing it should protect.
#fitness#health
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