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What immune mechanisms cause a covid-19 patient to worsen?

2020-08-06T17:16:26.428Z


A study by scientists at Yale University, Rockefeller University and the Howard Hughes Medial Institute indicates that the coronavirus activates an incorrect defense mechanism ...


Does science know why some get sick and others don't? 1:23

(CNN Spanish) - Since the start of the pandemic, doctors try to explain why some people become seriously ill after contracting covid-19. Now, a study by scientists at Yale University, Rockefeller University, and the Howard Hughes Medial Institute indicates that the coronavirus activates an incorrect defense mechanism in the body.

You can listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform, or read the transcript below.

Hello, I am Dr. Elmer Huerta and this is your daily dose of information about the new coronavirus, information that we hope will be useful to take care of your health and that of your family. Today we will see what are the immunological mechanisms that would make a covid-19 patient worse.

In the July 24 episode we tried to explain why the same virus may not cause symptoms in some people, mild symptoms in others and very serious symptoms in others.

We said that one of the possible reasons for this mystery is that up to 50% of the planet's inhabitants could have a certain type of cross-immunity with the new coronavirus. That immunity would be given by previous infections with any of the four types of coronaviruses that cause colds.

  • READ: What are the cerebral and nervous manifestations of the coronavirus?

But in recent weeks other studies have been published, which try to explain why some people aggravate more than others, explanations that would have to do with the way in which the body's defense system reacts to the virus, and how This causes confusion and triggers an excessive response.

To understand this mechanism, it is important to briefly review how our defense system works.

The human immune or defense system is of two types: the innate and the acquired or adaptive.

The innate system is the simplest and is made up of the physical barriers that the skin and mucosa give us, secretions such as tears, saliva or gastric juices, and multiple defense cells.

This innate system also includes a series of chemical substances known in groups as cytokines, messengers that warn the most specialized or adaptive defense system that the body is being invaded. One of the types of cytokines is that of interferons.

Does science know why some get sick from covid-19 and others don't? By contrast, the acquired or adaptive immune system is much more sophisticated, and consists of two types of lymphocytes or intelligent cells, the B and the T, which - through a complicated and sophisticated system - recognize the pathogen and neutralize it.

  • READ: Asymptomatic patients: the Achilles heel of the fight against the pandemic

At the signal of the cytokines, the T lymphocytes recognize the invader, keep a memory of it, and the B lymphocytes are the ones that produce specific antibodies against that pathogen.

In a simplified way, if a T lymphocyte never had contact with a pathogen - as is the case with this new coronavirus - the defense system takes longer to react.

Conversely, if the T lymphocyte has already had contact with a pathogen, then the immune system response is much faster and more intense.

On the other hand, the body's defense system has developed three different mechanisms to fight pathogens. The first is against viruses and bacteria that enter cells, the second against parasites - like worms, for example - that are only outside cells, and the third, against fungi and bacteria that fail to penetrate cells.

Each of these responses creates a different defense mechanism.

According to a recently published study, the new coronavirus would provoke such an abnormal immune response that the defense system, instead of triggering the defense mechanism against it, triggers the defense mechanism against parasites or fungi, leading to a reaction more severe immunological.

That mechanism would explain in part why cytokines - part of the innate defense system - instead of giving a brief alarm signal for lymphocytes to recognize a virus, it continues to ceaselessly warn that the invasion continues, causing an overreaction of the immune system. Defense, which as we described in the episode of June 18, originates the cytokine storm, an attack so severe by the defense system that it destroys the organism itself.

  • READ: What are the conditions that predispose to more complications from covid-19?

Finally, other studies indicate that the virus would cause a severe disconnection in the way T and B lymphocytes communicate with each other, leading to a disordered and severe response.

In summary, studies continue to find out why some people react so violently to the new coronavirus.

The goal of these studies is - obviously - to develop drugs that can block these abnormal reactions and tame the wild beast, which is what the defense system of a person who reacts violently against the virus seems to become.

Meanwhile, prevention to avoid contagion is the most sensible. Continuously wearing a mask in the presence of others, keeping a minimum distance of two meters from people, and continual washing of hands are the most important rules for not becoming infected.

Send me your questions on Twitter, we will try to answer them in our next episodes. You can find me at @DrHuerta.

If you think this podcast is useful, please help others find it by rating and reviewing it in your favorite podcast app. We'll be back tomorrow so be sure to subscribe to get the latest episode on your account.

And for the most up-to-date information, you can always go to CNNEspanol.com. Thanks for your attention.

If you have any questions, you can send them to Dr. Elmer Huerta through Twitter. You can also go to CNNE.com/coronaviruspodcast for all the episodes of our podcast «Coronavirus: Reality vs. fiction".

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Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2020-08-06

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