So Corona could damage the heart
Flu and covid-19 can damage the heart, but it is more common and more severe in Corona. Australian doctors have now discovered a probable cause.
After contracting Covid-19, the risk of cardiovascular disease increases. This was shown in a study published in Nature Medicine. A research group led by Arutha Kulasinghe from the University of Queensland has now presented an analysis in "Immunology" that explains the mechanism behind this - at least for some of the observed heart damage.
The team examined the heart tissue of seven covid patients from Brazil and compared it with material from two people who had died of influenza and six people who had not experienced either disease. They found significant differences between the people who had corona and those who had flu. "When we examined the heart tissue samples from the influenza patients, we saw that the viruses had caused excessive inflammation," says John Fraser, a physician involved in the study. "In contrast, Covid-19 was shown to attack the DNA of the heart, and probably directly, not just as a result of inflammation." . Accordingly, Kulasinghe and co did not find any viral particles in the heart tissue, but they did find altered cell tissue due to DNA damage and corresponding repair attempts by the cell. "DNA damage and repair mechanisms promote genetic instability and are associated with chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, artherosclerosis and neurodegenerative disorders," Kulasinghe says.
Previous data on the impact of Covid-19 on the heart was mainly based on biomarkers in patients' blood and physiological measurements, as obtaining heart tissue from living humans is risky. However, the study is still based on a very small data set, which is why the research group wants to conduct a larger cohort study. In the end, it might be possible to develop the first therapeutic approaches, the participants hope. But one thing already seems certain to them, says Fraser: "We have clearly proven that Covid is not 'like the flu'."
Spectrum of Science
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