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Ancient part of immune system may underpin severe COVID:
One of the immune system's oldest branches, called complement, may be influencing the severity of COVID disease, according to a new study from researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
Among other findings linking complement to COVID, the researchers found that people with age-related macular degeneration -- a disorder caused by overactive complement -- are at greater risk of developing severe complications and dying from COVID.
The connection with complement suggests that existing drugs that inhibit the complement system could help treat patients with severe disease.
The study was published on Aug. 3 in Nature Medicine.
The authors also found evidence that clotting activity is linked to COVID severity and that mutations in certain complement and coagulation genes are associated with hospitalization of COVID patients.
"Together these results provide important insights into the pathophysiology of COVID-19 and paint a picture for the role of complement and coagulation pathways in determining clinical outcomes of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2," says Sagi Shapira, PhD, MPH, who led the study with Nicholas Tatonetti, PhD, both professors at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Journal Reference:
Vijendra Ramlall, Phyllis M. Thangaraj, Cem Meydan, et al. Immune complement and coagulation dysfunction in adverse outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection [open], Nature Medicine (DOI: 10.1038/s41591-020-1021-2)
(Score: 2) by istartedi on Tuesday August 04 2020, @04:54PM
When I was in my 20s, I visited Denver for a few days (my home was just a few hundred feet above sea level) and thought 3 or 4 days would make it OK to drive to the top of Mt. Evans. It wasn't. I got severe mountain sickness. I didn't have to go to the hospital, but I was out for the rest of the day with a bad headache, and I got a floater in my eye that lingered for years. I wonder if this means I'm at greater risk for severe Covid-19 symptoms.
That trip was one of my first experiences with anything like real altitude. Since then I've learned the early warning signs. My current home altitude is 1600 ft. I don't spend much time walking around above 8000 ft. if I'm not acclimated. I have no trouble walking around South Lake Tahoe (about 6000 ft. ), but if I get out of the car at the top of Ebbet's Pass (8700 ft.) I definitely feel it. After a couple nights in Tahoe, we took a hike that probably brought us above 7000 ft. and it was no problem, so I know I can acclimate--just not that fast. One thing I've noticed is that if I'm just sitting down, I won't feel anything really off until about 10,000 ft. Then I feel just a bit off. I'll want to get out of the car and take a breather--but it's the exact wrong thing to do because if I get out of the car at the rest stop on the pass it just prolongs the effect. If I go straight through, up and over ASAP I'm golden--no problem at all.
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