COVID-19 and dementia: What's the link? | TheHealthSite.com

According to a new study, having a faulty gene linked to dementia may double your risk of developing severe complications of COVID-19. Read on to know more.

The new variant of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has left scientists across the world puzzled and worried. This deadly contagion keeps revealing new things about itself from time to time, making it difficult for experts to come up with a cure. Some of the questions that professionals in the field keep asking themselves repeatedly are mostly about the symptoms and the risk factors. We know now that the elderly and people with underlying health conditions like heart disease and diabetes are more at risk of severe complications. We also know that this COVID-19 can lead to permanent health issues. Yet, the virus reveals more secrets about itself as time goes by Also Read - Can remdesivir be a COVID-19 game changer? Here’s all you need to know about this drug

Now, a new study at the University of Exeter Medical School and the University of Connecticut School of Medicine has found a link between the severity of COVID-19 and a gene linked to dementia. Having a faulty gene that has a link to dementia doubles the risk of developing severe COVID-19, according to the large-scale study, published in in the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences. According to researchers, the gene is called APOE, and exists in different forms, one of which is termed e4e4. Also Read - A face mask that can kill the COVID-19 pathogen on contact: This may be a reality soon

About the study

For the purpose of the study, researchers analysed data from the UK Biobank, which collects health and genetic data on 500,000 people. They found that there is a high risk of severe COVID-19 infection among European ancestry participants who carry two faulty copies of this gene. One in 36 people of European ancestry have two faulty copies of this gene, which increases risks of Alzheimer’s disease up to 14-fold. It also increases risks of heart disease. Also Read - COVID-19 Live Updates: Cases in India surge to 1,51,767 as death toll reaches 4,337

Gene mutation may double the risk of COVID-19

One interesting finding of the study is that a person carrying these gene mutations has double the risks of COVID-19. This is true even for people who have not yet developed these diseases. Researchers also saw that dementia patients are three times more likely to get severe COVID-19.

Researchers suspect that this increase in risk may be due to exposure to the high prevalence of the virus in care homes. But they also suggest that a genetic component may be at play here. During the course of their research, they saw that people with the APOE e4e4 genotype were at double the risk of developing severe COVID-19, compared to those with the common e3e3 form of the APOE gene.

Experts hopeful that this study may lead to new ideas for treatment

In this analysis, 2.36 per cent (9,022) of 3.82 lakh participants with European ancestries had the APOE e4e4 faulty gene. But 5.13 per cent (37) of 721 who tested positive for COVID-19 had this gene variant. This suggests that the risk doubles in comparison to e3e3 (410 per 100,000 versus 179 per 100,000). Researchers say, “… We might now be able to pinpoint how this faulty gene causes vulnerability to COVID-19. This could lead to new ideas for treatments.”

(With inputs from Agencies)