COVID-19 Biomarkers Identified in Children

SARS-CoV-2 infection causes multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. This response was mainly seen among Latinx children. This response requires ICU admission and can also be deadly.

The Covid-19 infection causes multisystem inflammatory response in children (MISC-C), finds a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation . The response occurs weeks after the infection. Most of the patients improve with medications but patients with MIS-C require ICU admission and the condition can be fatal.

Covid-19 infection is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus that affects the upper respiratory tract. Fever, throat pain, cough, fatigue, and breathlessness are some of the common symptoms of the infection. It also affects other organs like the kidney, brain, and heart.

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‘In children, COVID-19 causes multisystem inflammatory response syndrome and is fatal. ’

The inflammatory response in multiple organs was mainly seen among Black children and the median age of the patients was 9 years.

"It is crucial to improve our understanding of MIS-C in the current environment, given reports of rising rates of children being hospitalized with COVID-19 in the U.S. and the return of many students to school for the fall term," says Moshe Arditi, director of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Division at Cedars-Sinai.

A study was conducted among a small group of patients to see the pathogenic pathway in MIS-C. In this, the proteins in the blood act as biomarkers to identify the severity of the infection and it also helps to provide proper treatment.

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The inflammatory response in children is similar to cytokine storm which is usually fatal among covid-19 patients. The symptoms of the condition are persistent fever, gastrointestinal problems, cardiovascular problems (sudden heart shock and heart muscle inflammation), respiratory problems and neurological problems. These problems are life threatening and can also lead to bacterial infections.

"We deployed an array of advanced techniques, including proteomics, RNA sequencing and analyses of antibodies and immune system signaling," says Van Eyk, professor of Cardiology, Biomedical Sciences and Pathology and Laboratory "By combining forces, we are better able to accelerate scientific discoveries to keep pace with the rapidly evolving pandemic and to inform clinical decisions."

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Further investigations are needed to validate the findings.

Source: Medindia

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