Biomarkers that could be used in quick COVID bloodscreening tool identified

[FfFfFfFF 58,081]

The concentration of specific metabolites in the blood could act as the foundation for a quick, inexpensive blood test that detects not only the presence of COVID-19 but which patients are at risk of becoming critically ill, according to a pan-Canadian study that included researchers from the University of Alberta.

The study, led out of Western University, found that COVID-19 decreases the blood concentration levels of three metabolites—small molecules broken down in the human body through the process of metabolism—and increases another.

The concentration of one metabolite called—kynurenine—was elevated in COVID-19 patients while concentrations of others—arginine, sarcosine and lysophosphatidylcholines—were decreased. The team also discovered that concentrations of two metabolites—creatinine and arginine—could be used to predict which critically-ill COVID-19 patients were most at risk of dying. When measured on a patient’s first and third day in ICU, these metabolites predicted COVID-19-associated death with 100 per cent accuracy.

The team also suspects those metabolites depleted by the virus could be delivered to patients as dietary supplements, acting as a secondary therapy that could improve disease outcomes.

https://www.folio.ca/study-identifies-biomarkers-that-could-be-used-in-a-quick-inexpensive-covid-19-blood-screening-tool/

[Chic 20,830]

God I hope I don’t have to get tested until they can do something besides scrape my brain through my nostrils

[Eighteen 5,430]

i really hope that this is the answer to the utter randomness that this virus seems to sometimes critically attack people. and i hope they find something for those people who struggle with symptoms months and months after first contracting it.