A total of 16 new genetic variants have been identified in people who have developed severe COVID-19, a recent study showed, adding that ‘this theory will help develop treatments for very ill patients’. ‘
The results suggest that people with severe COVID-19 have genes that predispose them to one of two problems: failure to limit the ability of the virus to make copies of itself, or excessive inflammation and blood clots. clots, stated an article published in the journal Nature.
“In the future it is possible that we will be able to make predictions about patients based on their genomes when critical care is introduced,” said Kenneth Bailey, consultant in critical care medicine at the University of Edinburgh. The study authors told reporters.
Genetic analysis of nearly 56,000 samples from people in the UK showed differences in 23 genes in COVID-19 patients who became critically ill, when compared with DNA from other groups included in the study, including 16 differences that were identified as was not previously recognized.
For example, researchers found changes in key genes that regulate levels of factor VIII, a protein involved in blood clotting. “Blood clotting is one of the main reasons that COVID patients become depleted of oxygen. So that could potentially be targeted to prevent those clots from forming,” Bailey said.
But “we can’t know if these drugs will work until we try them in people”.
One of the first genes discovered, TYK2, has been targeted by Eli Lilly’s arthritis drug baricitinib, which is now being studied as a treatment for COVID-19.
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