Ah, the benefits of technological advances….   We now have scientists examining the genomes of critically ill COVID-19 patients, to see if there are commonalities.   To learn how we can better treat the ill.

Right now, this one just has 2244 patients under study. But, I bet there are researchers all around the globe doing the same thing.

This study group is using a play on words.  First, let me explain the terminology.

Genomics:  This is an interdisciplinary study, focusing on the structure, function, evolution, mapping, and even the editing of the genome.  And, ‘genome’ is the fancy term used to describe the complete set of DNA and genes of an organism.

Now, here’s the group.  They call themselves the GenOMICC Consortium.  The Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care.  This UK institute is funded by the Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Council, the Intensive Care Society, and Sepsis Research.  The group started back in 2016 studying SARS, the flu, and MERS.  It’s not a closed group- researchers can opt in at any time, working together (and sharing source documents without restrictions) to better be able to treat patients worldwide.

In this current situation. the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the goal is to discern why some folks are asymptomatic yet others manifest long-term COVID-19.  Sure, we know that the older the patient, the more the co-morbidity factors, all that coalesces to create more problems for the patient.  But, the betting is that there are other factors that can better define the odds of riskier episodes.

Dr. Kenneth Baillie (Edinburgh) and his world-wide group (hundreds of clinicians)  (GenOMICCs) have identified, among these 2244 critically ill COVID-19 patients [all of whom were subjected to mechanical ventilation] at 208 UK institutions,  eight genetic regions of interest. (Five of which seem the most likely to provide greater information.)  They published their results in Nature (Genetic mechanisms of critical illness in Covid-19).  Among them are controllers of the immune system (the response to viral attack)- which means our immune response may be compromised, so seeking an adjuvant (I love it when I can use that term!) to solve that problem may be a great fix.

Interestingly, while we know that men are more likely to develop deadly infections than are women, the group found no gender related gene differences.

There is another study group, based in Massachusetts (under Dr. John Stone), which effected less pervasive research and was analyzing whether an anti-arthritis (an immunosuppressive drug, Tocilizumab) would provide reasonable treatment for 243 COVID-19 patients.  They also tried to identify gene variants associated with more severe symptomology.  (Blood Type O had a protective effect; type A had more severe infections.  Also, chromosome 3, associated with respiratory failure, was involved).

It also seems that a weak interferon (part of the immune system) response leads to more severe infections. (This is related to gene IFNAR2.)  Because once the immune responses kick in, this yields a deadly overcorrection.  (Part of the storms I’ve reported before.)

We’ll have to see if these findings help us treat our more at-risk patients… Or, will the conclusions arrive too late to make a difference before we’ve almost all been vaccinated.

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