According to new research, bacteria that hide in the gut of patients with COVID-19 may play a role in the degree of disease progression.
Although coronavirus is primarily a respiratory disease, there is growing evidence to suggest that gastrointestinal tract is involved, scientists at the Chinese University of Hong Kong said.
The team studied samples from 100 patients treated at two Hong Kong hospitals to see how the so-called microbiome of the digestive system could affect the recovery from the deadly mistake.
“The composition of the intestinal microbiome changed significantly in patients with COVID-19 compared to individuals who were not COVID-19, regardless of whether patients had received medication,” they wrote in the British Medical Journal publication Gut.
“According to several patients surveyed in this study up to 30 days after SARS-CoV-2 was removed, the gut microbiota is likely to remain significantly altered after COVID-19 recovery,” they said.
The researchers said that patients with severe disease have high plasma levels of inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory markers, and that there is a “substantial involvement” of the gastrointestinal tract during infection, given the “altered composition of the intestinal microbiota in subjects.” infected with SARS-CoV-2 “.
Cytokines, which are molecules that allow cells to talk to each other, play a crucial role in healthy immune function. However, there are too many cytokines that can cause what is known as a “cytokine storm”.
“These results suggest that the composition of the intestinal microbiota is associated with the magnitude of the immune response to COVID-19 and subsequent tissue damage and could therefore play a role in regulating the severity of the disease.” they wrote.
The scientists also found that since a small subset of patients had dysbiosis or an imbalance in the gut microbiota, even 30 days after recovery, this could be a potential explanation for why some symptoms persist in what is known. as long COVID.