Jakarta, CNN Indonesia –
Recent findings suggest that some people are infected Covid-19, their lungs fill with fluid which turns into a liquid gel. The liquid gel in the lungs of Covid-19 patients will make the patient unable to breathe.
Quoting BGR, these Covid patients will need ventilation therapy as respiratory failure worsens, and many die from dire conditions.
The Summit supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee, Dr. Daniel Jacobson in his paper some time ago said that the virus increases the production of hyaluronic acid (HLA) which can absorb a lot of fluids. When HLA interacts with the fluid in the lungs, the end result is a hydrogel that makes breathing even more difficult. At that point, it’s likely that even a ventilator won’t be able to help.
“It reaches a point where how much oxygen you pump, it doesn’t matter because the alveoli in the lungs are filled with these hydrogels,” says Jacobson. “The lungs are like water balloons.”
This brings us to a new study from Umea University in Sweden that illustrates the same phenomenon. Researchers found liquid gel in the lungs of patients who died from complications of COVID-19. The complete study is available in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
This time, researchers propose a treatment that could prevent the chemical processes that lead to the formation of this deadly liquid gel in the lungs.
“There are already therapies that slow down body gel production or break down gel via enzymes. Our findings may also explain why cortisone appears to have an effect on COVID-19,” said Umea University researcher Urban Hellman in a statement.
Scientists found a clear liquid gel in the lungs of COVID-19 patients who have died, which makes them look like the lungs of a drowned victim. They say the gel consists of “a hyaluronan substance, which is a polysaccharide in the glycosaminoglycan group.”
Hyaluronan is a common substance in the human body, which is involved in various functions such as wound healing. But when the virus builds up in a COVID-19 patient’s lungs, it can be deadly.
“It is this process that causes problems in the lung alveoli of Covid-19 patients that result in the patient requiring ventilator care and, in the worst case, dying of respiratory failure,” the researchers said.
The team of scientists thought that a drug called hymecromone could be used to slow the production of hyaluronan in diseases such as gallbladder attacks. They also explain that cortisone reduces hyaluronan production, which is why dexamethasone and other steroids can improve symptoms and save the lives of patients with severe complications of COVID-19.
As with other studies, more research is needed to prove the drug can help prevent liquid gel from forming in the lungs of Covid patients. Clinical trials with Hymecromone and similar drugs are needed before the drug can be used to combat COVID-19.
(chs)
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