Dementia gene ‘doubles risk’ of contracting virus
A faulty gene linked to dementia doubles the risk of developing coronavirus, a new study has suggested. Researchers linked the fault, found in people of European ancestry, to a greater risk of the virus even when they were had not developed dementia. The finding that people may be genetically predisposed to suffer from Covid-19 heralds the prospect of one day developing a genetic treatment that helps patients to overcome the infection. It could also be a means of more accurately identifying very high risk people who need to be shielded from the threat of the disease.