KONTAN.CO.ID – JAKARTA. Recently, the term cytokine storm in Covid-19 patients has resurfaced. Cytokine storm syndrome refers to a group of medical conditions in which the immune system produces too many inflammatory signals, sometimes leading to organ failure and death.
Launching from Very Well Health, Cytokine storm is not a disease, but rather a serious medical problem that can occur due to certain causes. This condition is also sometimes called cytokine release syndrome, CRS, or simply cytokine storm.
Cytokine storms are getting more attention due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Cytokine storms appear to be part of the reason some people with Covid-19 develop serious conditions.
What is a cytokine storm?
Broadly speaking, a cytokine storm is a cascade of exaggerated immune responses. This condition can cause serious problems. The immune system contains many different components that help the body fight infection.
This condition includes different types of cells that communicate with each other through signaling molecules, known as cytokines.
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There are various types of stockin with different functions. Some help recruit other immune cells, while others help with the production of antibodies or pain signals.
Some make blood clotting easier. Some help produce inflammation that can make blood vessels leak more than normal. Another group of cytokines helps dampen the body’s inflammatory response.
This is an important balancing act because too much inflammation causes its own problems. Under normal circumstances, these cytokines help coordinate the immune system’s response to dealing with infectious substances, such as viruses or bacteria.
The problem is, sometimes the body’s inflammatory response can spiral out of control, causing more harm than good. Sometimes the body produces too many inflammatory cytokines and not enough cytokines that modulate inflammation.
Inflammatory cytokines begin to “swarm” out of control, without sufficient feedback from anti-inflammatory cytokines. In people who have cytokine storm syndrome, certain cytokines are present in the blood in higher than normal amounts.
In Covid-19 patients, an increase in several inflammatory cytokines appears to be involved in the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome, a leading cause of death in people dealing with COVID-19 disease.
