3 ms·
We don't have data to really address this, but it's likely a flawed picture in that it's an uncommon progression even for severe cases. The reasoning is that an
by Enginerrrd 7y ago
We don't have data to really address this, but it's likely a flawed picture in that it's an uncommon progression even for severe cases. The reasoning is that antibiotics don't seem to be very effective for the most severe cases, and at least anecdotally among physicians, the evidence for secondary infection is usually weak. There seems to be a lot of primary damage caused by the virus itself to the point of diminished lung function.
Without getting overly technical, there's also some atypical results in some of the labs that seems to indicate that the virus is just overwhelming parts of their immune system, which are in collapse. This can drive up other parts that are inflammatory in nature leading to the cytokine storm and ARDS which comes on very rapidly. However, the fact that things like steroids are leading to WORSE outcomes suggests that the immune suppression is very unhelpful which suggests the problem is more that tissues are just getting overwhelmed with virus.
- bardworx 7y agoSorry for the ignorant question but you mentioned steroids and immune suppression. Does that imply that steroids suppress the immune system in some way? I’ve tried googling but came up empty besides a paper on “ glucocorticoids” which seems to be something to do with cortisol shots for reduced inflammation, which has immune suppression tendencies. Is that what you mean? And if yes, is this for all levels of steroids or just some particular types? (IE steroids in an asthma inhaler vs cortisol shot vs anabolic steroids). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3047790/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3047790/
- JamesBarney 7y agoCorticosteroids suppress the immune system, as do anabolic steroids, but it's not a property inherent to steroids. For instance estrogen is also a steroid and doesn't suppress the immune system.
- vikramkr 7y agoYep, corticosteroids are used for immune suppression. That's why they're used in autoimmune conditions https://www.mayoclinic.org/steroids/art-20045692 https://www.mayoclinic.org/steroids/art-20045692
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- ebg13 7y ago> Does that imply that steroids suppress the immune system in some way? Yes. This is the reason why they're used in the first place. > steroids in an asthma inhaler Yes, but an entire year's worth of asthma inhaler is like one dose of oral prednisone, so the impact is quite low and you should not stop using your inhaler. > cortisol shot Yes. > anabolic steroids Yes.
- Reelin 7y agoSteroids are an entire class of chemicals that have a specific pattern in their structure. Hormones are signalling molecules that get transported throughout your body. Steroid hormones are chemicals that are both a steroid and a hormone. Not all steroids are hormones (ex cholesterol) and not all hormones are steroids. A subgroup of steroid hormones is corticosteroids. A subgroup of corticosteroids is glucocorticoids, (most of?) which exhibit strong effects on the immune system (roughly speaking, they suppress the immune system and reduce inflammation).
- bardworx 7y agoThank you for your comment.