A new biomarker for acute COVID-19 may have been found by researchers. This comes as good news to the scientific community as it furthers our understanding of the disease and how it progresses. The biomarker, called C-reactive protein (CRP), is a protein produced by the liver in response to inflammation. Blood levels of CRP are a measure of inflammatory activity in the body and are elevated in many diseases, including infections. The new study, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, looked at data from 1,100 patients with confirmed COVID-19 from 24 hospitals in China. The researchers found that CRP levels were significantly elevated in patients with severe COVID-19, including those who required ventilation or had died. CRP levels were also elevated in patients with milder forms of the disease, but to a lesser extent. This is the first study to report an association between CRP levels and severity of COVID-19. The findings suggest that CRP may be a useful biomarker for identifying patients at risk for severe disease and for monitoring disease severity.
According to a new study, researchers may have found a new biomarker for acute COVID-19.
The study, which is still in its early stages, looked at a group of patients with confirmed COVID-19 and found that those who had higher levels of a certain protein in their blood had more severe symptoms.
This protein, called interleukin-6 (IL-6), is known to be involved in the body’s inflammatory response.
Previous studies have found that IL-6 levels are elevated in the blood of patients with other respiratory viruses, such as influenza.
While more research is needed to confirm the findings, the study’s authors say that IL-6 could be a useful biomarker for identifying patients at risk of developing severe COVID-19.
This is particularly important since there is currently no specific treatment for the disease.
If further studies confirm the findings, doctors could use IL-6 levels to help guide treatment decisions and better understand which patients are at risk of developing severe disease.
