Men at higher risk

[reader]

From South China Morning Post

Why are men more likely to get Covid-19? High levels of enzyme ACE2 may make infection easier

Men’s blood has higher levels than women’s of a key enzyme the new coronavirus uses to infect cells, a finding which may help explain why men are more vulnerable to infection with Covid-19, the results of a big European study suggests.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is found in the heart, kidneys and other organs. In Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, it is thought to play a role in how the infection progresses into the lungs.

The study, published in the European Heart Journal, also found that widely prescribed drugs called ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) did not lead to higher ACE2 concentrations and should therefore not increase the Covid-19 risk for people taking them. ACE inhibitors and ARBs are widely prescribed to patients with congestive heart failure,

diabetes or kidney disease. The drugs account for billions of dollars in prescription sales worldwide.

 

“Our findings do not support the discontinuation of these drugs in Covid-19 patients,” said Adriaan Voors, a professor of cardiology at the University Medical Centre (UMC) Groningen in The Netherlands, who co-led the study. Those prescribed these drugs should not stop taking them.

 

The study had started before the coronavirus pandemic, the researchers said, and so did not include patients with Covid-19. But when other research began to point to ACE2 as key to the way the new coronavirus gets into cells, Voors and his team saw important overlaps with their study.

Men’s blood has higher levels than women’s of a key enzyme the new coronavirus uses to infect cells, a finding which may help explain why men are more vulnerable to infection with Covid-19, the results of a big European study suggests.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is found in the heart, kidneys and other organs. In Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, it is thought to play a role in how the infection progresses into the lungs.

“When we found that one of the strongest biomarkers, ACE2, was much higher in men than in women, I realised that this had the potential to explain why men were more likely to die from Covid-19 than women,” said Iziah Sama, a doctor at UMC Groningen who co-led the study.

CE2 is a receptor on the surface of cells which binds to the new coronavirus and allows it to enter and infect cells. Sama and Voors noted that as well as in

the lungs, ACE2 is found in the heart, kidneys, in tissues lining blood vessels, and in particularly high levels in the testes.

 

They said its presence in the testes might partially explain higher ACE2 concentrations in men, and why men are more vulnerable to Covid-19.

[vinapu]

In last THE ECONOMIST is an article about smokers  having much lower infection rate apparently. Perhaps instead  of injecting bleach as Trump suggested  drop or two of nicotine will do?

[Guest]

20 hours ago, vinapu said:

In last THE ECONOMIST is an article about smokers  having much lower infection rate apparently. Perhaps instead  of injecting bleach as Trump suggested  drop or two of nicotine will do?

Nicotine patches might be a nice compromise.   

Oddly, in the UK we get no end of questions from our whinging useless journalists to the UK government about a higher death rate amongst BAME people. 

[ As it's virtually inconceivable that our ethnically diverse NHS would not give all races the same standard of treatment, there must be another cause for that one.]

There almost seems to be an element of discrimination in their questioning, as they almost never ask about the higher death rate amongst males, who number almost 50% of the population.

 

[spoon]

Is it also possible because majority of men are working and women dont? And the virus spread through human contact, stay at home parents, most of which women are less susceptible. But of course biologically we are different too, hence the research above provide some clarification but i do believe the fact that whoever is outside most of the time will be exposed to the virus more frequently thus increase their chances of getting infected. That bit about smokers is less known though, in fact, in our country, smokers and those who is obese tends to develop serious complication and had more severe symptoms than those who arent. No mention of infection rate though.