Mystery Solved? Researchers Discover Biomarker That Predicts Who Will Suffer Severe Illness From COVID-19

One of the big COVID-19 mysteries is why some people suffer severe illness, while others experience mild colds. Research about reactive T cells produced during infection with other beta coronaviruses — which could explain a level of mitigating immunity for some people — has appeared in journals. Age certainly seems to be a significant risk factor. However, nothing to date explained all differences or provided any insight into which patients may suffer from severe disease.

Now researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) have found a specific and sensitive biomarker that may provide more insight:

In a new retrospective study, researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) discovered a specific and sensitive biomarker in blood samples that predicts which patients will develop COVID-19 symptoms. Their results, published online on July 9 in Scientific Reports, show that reduced levels of a specific lipid, sphingosine, are significantly associated with developing COVID-19 symptoms. Conversely, elevated levels of sphingosine, as well as a protein involved in its production, acid ceramidase (AC), are associated with asymptomatic infections.

Sphingosine is one lipid in the class called sphingolipids. These molecules are important to the integrity of the cell membrane, which viruses must penetrate to hijack the cell processes in order to replicate. Sphingolipids also facilitate communication between cells and regulate inflammation and the immune response to various infections. The MUSC Ogretmen Lab has decades of experience measuring different lipids using a standard scale.

Inflammation is a known feature of severe COVID-19 and mortality, and clinicians believe it is caused by an immune system overreaction in the lungs. This reaction is sometimes referred to as a cytokine storm. The MUSC Lab performed an analysis of patient serum samples from the COVID-19 repository to look specifically for changes in sphingolipid levels.

Overweight people are having horrible consequences HOWEVER it seems that so much of our population today are overweight it is no wonder we have so many having severe problems!! I recently took a part time job after my mom passed I was her caretaker, after her passing I was bored to tears went to work as a cashier in the grocery business OMG not only are the parents severely overweight the very young kids are little porkers!! What the hell is wrong with these parents letting these small kids get obese before becoming teenagers!! When I was a kid I NEVER saw a FAT kid in my teen years we worried about our weight constantly always were concerned about having a nice figure!! WTH has happened to this nation no one seems to care about their appearance anymore!!!

When I was a kid I NEVER saw a FAT kid in my teen years we worried about our weight constantly always were concerned about having a nice figure!

Omega 6 fats make people fat. Seed oils were introduced in the 20th century. The percentage of fats that is omega 6 fats in people’s bodies keeps increasing. That’s why people are fat.

Simply choosing one cooking oil over another might make a person fat.

Seed oils were not common in the past. Now soybean and canola oil are the most used.

Another thing that makes people fat is excess supplementation of foods.

I wonder how many of us were sick or ailing from you know what in the latter part of 2019 to and including Jan/Feb 2020.

Of course no one knew about the crud then, except maybe Fauci and his CDC thugs.

On the west coast, it may have hit in the Seattle area and some of the nursing homes in that area at first and worked its way down to SF and the LA area.

Apparently, some blood donor samples in that area from that time period showed Covid.

I’m an old, white female with a houseful of cats. I haven’t been sick in over 30 years and haven’t been to a doctor in my adult life.

I’d like to know what you are doing.

blueplum wrote:

“Cows show how important they are once again: Drink your milk!

https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/129/7/1239/4722573
“

Not everyone can tolerate milk.

Eggs are next best on the list, per wuli.

It’s funny.

At my age I still like milk and have never considered it as giving me any upset.

But recently, some many months ago, without consciously thinking about it, I have been drinking apple juice often when I would otherwise have had milk; like at breakfast.

After awhile I started to realize that I was farting less. Ha Ha

So, as much as I seem to tolerate milk well, I think it must be giving my system more gas. At least the affect is only in one direction.

Charted: America’s weight gain amid Covid-19

The vast majority of Americans said the Covid-19 epidemic is a significant stressor for them, with more than 40% saying they’ve gained undesired weight since the start of the epidemic.

On average, Gen Z adults who reported undesired weight gain since the start of the epidemic gained 28 pounds, while among millennials the average was 41 pounds.Apr 21, 2021.

Grampa Dave wrote:

“I don’t know about my DIL.

This son, my GS & I are 0 positive.”

I’ve heard type O folks don’t get hit as hard by the virus; how bad a case was your son’s?

He is completely unreliable when it comes to pain level. He broke a collar bone in wrestling and was poed at his coach for taking him out with the collar bone sticking up. Later that evening, he ate dinner and had us take him to sign up for baseball.

This crud hit him very hard. No hospital but he was basically out for 3 days. He was on the magical 2 drug regimen as an outpatient for 7 days, I think.

He is back to work and starting late and coming home early.

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