It seems that the mysteries of the emerging corona virus are continuing, the last of which causes it with different symptoms in 4 people from one family, and the survival of a man suffering from severe obesity;
Why does not the Corona virus infect everyone in the same way?
The first puzzle: 4 members of one family with 4 different results for corona infection
The Rospiny family in Sunnyvale, California, was infected with the Coronavirus in early April.
But with different symptoms and pathways of recovery.
Writer Somathi Reddy said in a report in the Wall Street Journal that 4 family members developed the disease with them as follows:
Diego Rusbini, a 53-year-old computer scientist with a history of asthma, was hospitalized for a week in early April and dealt with respiratory problems and fatigue until August.
His wife, Connie Laris, a 48-year-old medical translator at Stanford Children's Hospital, suffered from low-grade fever, body aches, diarrhea and hot flashes;
By June, however, it felt good enough to climb a 14,500 feet high mountain.
Daughter Natalia, 17, barely able to eat for months, coped with confusion and fatigue.
Son Santiago, 12, showed no symptoms except for an "increased appetite" (increased appetite) and a low-grade fever for a few days, despite suffering from a congenital heart condition.
The author Reddy said that currently, researchers at Stanford University and Colombia are studying why people have symptoms of the Corona virus differently.
The Rospini family is currently part of a Stanford Medicine study called the Long Term Immunity Study, which looks at the immune response of Covid-19 patients in 200 participants.
Participants' symptoms vary, and not all of them can be explained by genetics, says Carey Nadeau, professor of medicine and pediatrics at Stanford University, who is overseeing the study.
"Even within one family, they are infected with the same strain of virus at the same time and have the same underlying genes," Nadu says, "the symptoms people show can be different."
The second riddle: "The fattest man in the world" overcomes Corona
Mexican Juan Pedro Franco, the holder of the title "the fattest man in the world" in the Guinness Book of Records in 2017, defeated Covid-19 a month after he was infected with the virus, knowing that he weighs today about 200 kilograms.
Meanwhile Franco's mother passed away;
Because she was infected with Corona virus at the age of 66.
The 36-year-old told Agence France-Presse from his home in the state of Aguascaliente (central Mexico), "It was complicated, because the disease is spreading quickly, and I am one of the people who face greater risks (because of obesity). Difficulty breathing. "
The weight of Juan Pedro Franco had reached 595 kilograms, and although he lost a large portion of the excess weight, and now weighs 208 kilograms, the problems associated with his obesity, including diabetes, high blood pressure and lung disease, are all factors that complicated his battle against the virus.
For his part, Doctor Jose Antonio Castañeda, who led the team that treated Franco's obesity, said, "Patients who suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure, or any cardiovascular disease are more likely to develop serious complications" in the event of infection with Covid-19, and that "the chances of recovery are slim." very".
Despite this, his patient managed to overcome the disease.
Juan Pedro Franco believes that the complex treatments he followed for weight loss, and his undergoing 3 surgeries, are factors that played a positive role in helping to "cope with the disease", in light of his control over diabetes and hypertension problems.
Riddle three: Mortality is low in children, but injuries are higher among adolescents
According to data from the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and reported by Agence France-Presse, a remarkable difference was recorded in corona infections between people over 11 years old and those under this age, as the rate of injuries was doubled among children between 12 17 years old, compared to those aged 5 to 11.
In an analysis published on its website on September 10, the American Centers considered that, according to the most likely scenario, the death rate from confirmed injuries by age group was 0.003% (0-19 years), 0.02% (20-49 years) and 0. .5% (50-69 years) and 5.4% (70 years and over).
In general, several studies in the United States have shown that children are less likely to develop serious forms of Covid-19 compared to adults, even though they are not completely immune.
The scientific debate continues to understand whether young people are affected to the same degree as adults with the disease or to a lesser degree. An analysis published in the journal "JAMA Pediatrics" - reported by the French News Agency - concluded last week, and those responsible for it collected data from 32 studies on the topic, that Children and adolescents under the age of 20 were actually 44% less likely to have the disease;
However, the same analysis was not able to determine whether children transmit the infection to the same extent as adults or to a lesser extent.
The fourth puzzle: genetic abnormalities and the Corona virus
Researchers have found that infection with life-threatening forms of Covid-19 can be explained by genetic abnormalities in patients carrying the virus, according to a report published by the French newspaper "Le Point", by the author Baudouin Echabas.
What are the factors that explain the acute infection of some people with the Covid-19 virus, while the symptoms are almost unclear to many?
Why is infection worse in some population groups than in others?
And why do symptoms vary between sufferers?
The writer Baudouin Echabas said that researchers are working to find answers to these questions, genetic and immune preparations explain the differences in the interaction of individuals' bodies with the Corona virus, and this finding is very important.
Because it opens the door to the possibility of identifying patients at risk, and thus anticipating a deterioration in their health status.
A French-American research team under the supervision of immunologist Jean-Laurent Casanova and Laurent Appel is working to explain the cause of the infection of some people.
That is, about 15% of all cases, with life-threatening forms of "Covid-19″".
In January, an international consortium was established that aims to discover the birth defects in the immunity underlying severe forms of Covid-19.
During this research, 659 people infected with life-threatening forms of Covid-19 underwent a series of tests that target the specific mechanisms of immunity, and then these tests were compared with the tests of 534 people carrying Corona virus without symptoms.
This work was supervised by the National Institute of Health and Medical Research and Public Aid Hospitals in Paris and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in New York.
The research results were published in the journal Science.
During a press conference held on September 25, Professors Stanislas Lyonette, Jean-Laurent Casanova and Laurent Appel indicated that their teams identified a common point among patients who develop life-threatening forms of Covid-19, explaining that genetic mutations hinder the production of "interferon of the first type" (type I interferon activity), which usually has strong antiviral activity.
The researchers noted that some patients had genetic abnormalities that reduce the production of the first type of interferon, while in other patients they found genetic abnormalities that reduce the effectiveness of interferon itself.
For his part, Christophe Denvert, scientific director of the French Research Foundation, explained, “The type 1 interferon pathway was explored several months ago at the Pasteur Institute, and these powerful antiviral molecules whose effects have already been observed in treating AIDS open new avenues for treating Covid-19. ".