THIS’LL RATTLE YOU!
COVID link with venom
Sssseriously?!
Getting very ill with COVID-19 is like getting bitten by a poisonous rattlesnake, according to a new medical study.
Researchers identified an enzyme in the virus that ravages the body the same way as neurotoxins from rattlesnake venom, according to the analysis published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Targeting the enzyme, which causes severe inflammation, could better treat and save the lives of COVID-19 patients amid the virus’ resurgence
with the Delta variant, said the scientists from Stony Brook University on Long Island, the University of Arizona and Wake Forest University.
The coronavirus enzyme, sPLA2-II, has similarities to an active enzyme in rattlesnake venom that is typically found in low concentrations in healthy individuals and has long been known to play a critical role in humans’ defense against bacterial infections, the study says.
But when the same enzyme circulates at high levels, it can “shred” the membranes of vital organs, said the University of Arizona’s Floyd “Ski” Chilton, a senior author of the paper.
“The study supports a new therapeutic target to reduce or even prevent COVID-19 mortality,” explained co-author Dr. Maurizio Del Poeta of Stony Brook’s Renaissance School of Medicine.
“Because inhibitors of sPLA2IIA already exist, our study supports the use of these inhibitors in patients with elevated levels of sPLA2-IIA to reduce, or even prevent, COVID-19 mortality.” Del Poeta said Chilton contacted Stony Brook to analyze blood samples in COVID-19 patients to study the snake venomtype enzyme.
Dr. Del Poeta and his team, coled by research assistant Jeehyun Karen You, collected stored blood-plasma samples and analyzed medical charts from 127 patients hospitalized at Stony Brook University Hospital between January and July 2020.
A collection of 154 patient samples from Stony Brook and Banner University Medical Center in Tucson between January and November 2020 were also examined.
“Our study is especially timely given how the Delta variant is contributing to rising COVID-19 incidence and hospitalization rates both in the US and worldwide,” You said.
As of Friday, 55,453 people have died from COVID-19 in New York state, according to data provided by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“As the Delta variant makes its way through communities across the country, it’s crucial we keep doing everything we can to keep each other safe from the COVID virus,” Gov. Hochul said in a statement Sunday.
“Wear a mask, and, if you haven’t already, get your vaccine as soon as you can. The vaccine is the best way to protect yourselves and your loved ones.”