According to the British newspaper Daily Mail, British scientists have identified up to 16 DNA changes in patients suffering from severe COVID-19 infections, many of which are involved in blood clotting and inflammation.
As part of government-funded research, experts at the University of Edinburgh examined the genes of over 57,000 people across the UK, including 9,000 COVID-19 patients.
In a study published in the journal "Nature," scientists analyzed the complete genome sequencing of nearly 7,500 Britons who required intensive care due to COVID-19 infection. They then compared these genomes to about 1,600 individuals with mild COVID-19 infections and around 48,000 people who had never contracted the virus.
Researchers found key differences in 16 genes among intensive care patients. One genetic variant, called interferon alpha-10, was found to be less effective in signaling the immune system that cells are being attacked by the virus, and individuals with this gene type were shown to have a higher risk of death due to COVID-19.
Another genetic variant, known as factor 8, which is linked to a bleeding disorder, was found in individuals with severe illness. It was shown that one of the genes identified by the team was 40% more common in people of East Asian descent compared to those of European ancestry.
Professor Kenneth Bailey, an expert in critical care medicine at the University of Edinburgh and the lead researcher in the study, stated that the discovery of genes associated with the risk of COVID-19 opens the door to potential new treatments.
He added, "These results explain why some individuals develop severe COVID-19 while others show no symptoms at all. But more importantly, it gives us a deeper understanding of how the disease evolves and represents a significant step forward in finding more effective treatments."
