Post by Atticus Pizzaballa on Dec 8, 2021 20:02:37 GMT -5
From the start of the pandemic, the coronavirus seemed to target people carrying extra pounds. Patients who were overweight or obese were more likely to develop severe Covid-19 and more likely to die.
Though these patients often have health conditions like diabetes that compound their risk, scientists have become increasingly convinced that their vulnerability has something to do with obesity itself.
Now researchers have found that the coronavirus infects both fat cells and certain immune cells within body fat, prompting a damaging defensive response in the body.
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“The bottom line is, ‘Oh my god, indeed, the virus can infect fat cells directly,’” said Dr. Philipp Scherer, a scientist who studies fat cells at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, who was not involved in the research.
“Whatever happens in fat doesn’t stay in fat,” he added. “It affects the neighboring tissues as well.”
The research has not yet been peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal, but it was posted online in October. If the findings hold up, they may shed light not just on why patients with excess pounds are vulnerable to the virus, but also on why certain younger adults with no other risks become so ill.
The study’s authors suggested the evidence could point to new Covid treatments that target body fat.
www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-coronavirus-attacks-fat-tissue-scientists-find/ar-AARCqfv?li=BBnb7Kz
Diet time, lol. But who knows how true. I guess those scientists involved in a through study of this virus. Cleaver Chinese!
Though these patients often have health conditions like diabetes that compound their risk, scientists have become increasingly convinced that their vulnerability has something to do with obesity itself.
Now researchers have found that the coronavirus infects both fat cells and certain immune cells within body fat, prompting a damaging defensive response in the body.
Sign up for The Morning newsletter from The New York Times
“The bottom line is, ‘Oh my god, indeed, the virus can infect fat cells directly,’” said Dr. Philipp Scherer, a scientist who studies fat cells at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, who was not involved in the research.
“Whatever happens in fat doesn’t stay in fat,” he added. “It affects the neighboring tissues as well.”
The research has not yet been peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal, but it was posted online in October. If the findings hold up, they may shed light not just on why patients with excess pounds are vulnerable to the virus, but also on why certain younger adults with no other risks become so ill.
The study’s authors suggested the evidence could point to new Covid treatments that target body fat.
www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-coronavirus-attacks-fat-tissue-scientists-find/ar-AARCqfv?li=BBnb7Kz
Diet time, lol. But who knows how true. I guess those scientists involved in a through study of this virus. Cleaver Chinese!
