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According to new research, an abnormal form of cell death may cause extreme damage to a Covid patient’s lungs, potentially resulting in life-threatening conditions such as inflammation and acute respiratory disorder. The study suggests that the ability to prevent this abnormal form of cell death – ferroptosis – could provide doctors with new ways to treat Covid-19 lung disease.
Cell death, in which the cell stops functioning, can be natural or triggered by causes such as disease or injury.
The most common form of cell death is cells “cutting off” the molecules inside, the researchers said, adding that it also happens in humans when they become sick or age. (Also read | Mercury at 47 degrees in Delhi; 10 important rules of what to do and what not to do during heat wave,
However, in ferroptosis, a relatively uncommon form of cell death, cells die as their outer fat layers collapse, said researchers at Columbia University in the US.
In this study, they analyzed human tissues and collected autopsies from patients who died of respiratory failure due to COVID-19 infection. Hamster samples were also analyzed.
The team found that most of the cells were dying through the mechanism of ferroptosis, which appears to be the underlying basis of lung disease in Covid patients.
Therefore, drugs that target and prevent the ferroptosis form of cell death may help improve the treatment course of COVID-19, the researchers said.
“This discovery adds important insights to our understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on the body,” said Brent Stockwell, chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at Columbia University and co-lead author of the study published in the journal Nature Communications. “This will significantly improve our ability to fight life-threatening cases.”
Previous studies have shown that ferroptosis, while helpful in some normal physiological processes, can also attack and kill healthy cells in patients with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
The authors said the ability to inhibit ferroptosis could provide doctors with new ways to deal with cell death that shouldn’t occur, as is the case with COVID-19 lung disease.
Stockwell said, “We hope that these important new findings can improve our ability to combat this dangerous disease, which in many cases still leads to debilitating health outcomes and death.”
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