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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIsraeli scientists think they know why virus is severe for some, mild for others
Hoping to point way to drug therapy, Weizmann team says it found cells called in to fight coronavirus in lungs may actually worsen disease, sparking storm that can lead to death
By NATHAN JEFFAY
14 May 2020, 6:33 pm 4
Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, one of the greatest mysteries to confound researchers has been figuring out why the disease leaves some people almost completely unharmed, while others suffer serious conditions and die.
The answer, according to Israeli scientists, is that lungs of the worst-affected patients become riddled with immune cells that exacerbate the pathogens impact instead of fighting it. In patients who are less affected by the disease, this doesnt happen, says the team from the Weizmann Institute of Science.
In most cases the immune system helps recovery, said Amir Giladi of Weizmanns Department of Immunology. But for some reason, and this represents the real mystery of coronavirus, this is turned around, and the immune system is not your helper, but rather makes the disease more intense.
He is part of a Weizmann team that set out to pinpoint when things start to go downhill for the worst-stricken patients, hoping that drug companies will be able to use their research to develop therapies to stop the disease.
The pharmaceutical industry is currently struggling to understand the best way to counter COVID-19s impact, but Giladi is hopeful that his research will move things forward by providing a target in the body for intervention.
More: https://www.timesofisrael.com/israelis-take-crack-at-virus-riddle-why-severe-for-some-and-mild-for-others/?fbclid=IwAR3joDv1uXShjVBy26zMzxiNIpQX0mCBj519c6r6oURYqjYYhXKUmhkPLgA
Cha
(297,323 posts)blogslut
(38,002 posts)Has the virus killed people whose lung's "tissue residence immune system" didn't disappear, as stated in the article? Do they have theories as to why some people's lungs fight off the virus successfully while other's lungs don't?
BigmanPigman
(51,611 posts)Garion_55
(1,915 posts)will let you know how it goes!
MFM008
(19,818 posts)Happened to young people having the 1918 flu.
mnhtnbb
(31,392 posts)to counteract the deadly effect of coronavirus, rather than placing hope in a vaccine. There are too many mutations of the virus, and for most people who contract the virus, it's not a horrible disease.
Being able to stop the progression of the disease to prevent it from destroying vital organs is what is really needed. That reduces hospitalizations in ICU and need for ventilators. Then it becomes a manageable disease.
This is the direction research needs to go.