Since the world witnessed the sudden pandemic outbreak, several mysteries have been associated with it. Why do some people get sicker than others? What is the reason for the lung damage to get worst? And what could be the reason for the multi-organ ailment that lasts for many months? The recent studies suggest that it is because as the virus infects the body, the immune system starts to attack the host body and cause all kinds of issues.
Can vaccination help? To a certain extent, but there is no guarantee for that. As a result, there are people in the United States that aren’t getting vaccinated. People think incentives might work. According to research in MyBioSource, people in Delaware voted for $131 being the incentive for getting vaccinated. The amount for Idaho and Michigan are $142 and $136, respectively.
The crucial research findings
Once the pandemic started, many researchers concluded that most people have an overactive immune response to this virus. The cytokines in the body can increase and cause damage to the cells. The recent clinical trials have highlighted that certain drugs can hamper immune activity. They might reduce the death rate but causes another physical hazard.
The role played by the antibodies
Today, several scientists have devoted themselves to the study of the novel coronavirus. They are constantly studying the role played by the antibodies. It is rather interesting to note that the rouge antibodies, which generally attacks specific aspects of the immune defense of the body or proteins stored in organs, like the heart, can cause havoc. Apart from the cytokine storms that can lead to short-term and systemic issues, the autoantibodies can also lead to permanent, targeted damages.
The healthiest person also generates autoantibodies in a controlled amount. Here the molecules don’t lead to any attack or damage to the immune system. Simultaneously, the researchers have gathered proof that tricky autoantibodies can lead to severe ailments. Today, several theories can correctly explain how autoimmunity can emerge from the COVID-19 and various other infections. It is a possibility that a few people might get predisposed to generating autoantibodies which can thereby lead to havoc when there is an existing infection.
Having said that, any infection can trigger the generation of autoantibodies. Hence, as and when the medical community can come up with the link, chances are they can also discover the remedy for it. And it is applicable both for the COVID repercussions and other ailments that gets caused by the virus.
Searching for the autoantibodies
Jean-Laurent Casanova had led a group in Rockefeller University. In this group, over 10% of the 987 people got affected with acute COVID-19, where the antibodies have attacked and blocked the action of the type 1 interferon molecules, which can assist in bolstering the immune system against any unknown pathogen. According to the researchers, it was a striking proportion as the antibody repertoires of the people concerned appeared dissimilar. Almost no one present in the control group possessed these antibodies. Having said that, the researchers could also locate the antibodies in people prior to them getting infected by the virus. Hence, according to Casanova, there would be a few people who are genetically conditioned to generate them. And even though autoantibodies were seen to be more prevalent in men compared to women, that explains why COVID affected more men severely than women.
An important idea to grasp
In the past few years, several scientists and medical practitioners have recognized various examples of infections that generates autoimmunity. A few reports suggest that anyone getting infected by the malaria parasite can witness their red blood cells getting attacked. It means they would have anemia. The Epstein–Barr virus also leads to glandular fever and can lead to several autoimmune ailments, which can also comprise of lupus. It can be challenging to come up with a solid connection, as it is indeed challenging to highlight if the infections are the primary reason of the autoimmune disorder or if they have occurred in the body for various other reasons. For this, there needs to be more research.
Even strep throat can be taken as a good example. When you don’t treat it well, that gets caused because of the Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria, it will generate an autoimmune reaction, which is mostly rheumatic fever. It is known to attack your organs and can also cause permanent heart damage.
Therefore, one can safely say that it is a game of the antibodies and how they respond when the body is under the attack of the novel coronavirus. Today, there is a need for more research to study these autoantibodies as that will help the medical community to get to the root cause of all symptoms and come up with lasting treatments that heal better.