A research study found that patients who have elevated levels of two certain proteins are more likely to exhibit severe coronavirus symptoms. One of the more peculiar aspects of the coronavirus is that it impacts people in completely different ways. One person might test positive and exhibit no symptoms whatsoever, while another person might experience severe symptoms that some recovered patients have likened to living through hell.
What we do know is that men seem to be at higher risk than women, and children, for the most part, seem to be unaffected by the virus entirely. Adults with pre-existing conditions like chronic cardiac disease, diabetes, pulmonary disease, kidney disease and asthma are far more likely to ensure severe coronavirus symptoms than others.
In addition, in September, researchers from Mount Sinai discovered that there are various markers that can be tested to help physicians more accurately determine which patients are likely to bear the full brunt of the coronavirus and, in turn, treat them accordingly.
Research showed that when two proteins — IL-6 and TNF-a — are found in a patient’s bloodstream at elevated levels, they’re more likely to die from the coronavirus than others. What’s both promising and interesting is that coronavirus drugs currently being tested for FDA approval are already designed to block the IL-6 and TNF-a proteins.
Work on an effective coronavirus vaccine remains ongoing. As it stands now, there are a few potential vaccine candidates in the midst of clinical trials and Dr. Anthony Fauci recently said that we’ll know whether a vaccine will be FDA-approved by November.
Source: BGR October 5, 2020