3 ms·

Link to the study: https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n693 https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n693 From the study: > At baseline, individuals with covid-19

Link to the study: https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n693 https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n693 From the study: > At baseline, individuals with covid-19 had a mean age of 64.5 (standard deviation 19.2) and 54.9% were men. Compared with the general population, individuals in hospital with covid-19 were more likely to be: male, aged 50 or more, living in a deprived area, a former smoker, and overweight or obese (table 1). Individuals with covid-19 were also more likely to be comorbid than the general population, with a higher prevalence of previous admission to hospital and of all measured pre-existing conditions (most notably hypertension, major adverse cardiovascular event, respiratory disease, and diabetes). > Individuals discharged from hospital after acute covid-19 had increased rates of multiorgan dysfunction (particularly respiratory and cardiometabolic) compared with a matched control group from the general population > The rate ratio of multiorgan dysfunction (comparing individuals with covid-19 and matched controls) after discharge was greater in those aged less than 70 than in those aged 70 or more, and in ethnic minority groups than in the white population > Our findings suggest that the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of post-covid syndrome requires integrated rather than organ or disease specific approaches

noodlenotes 6y ago
I remember at the beginning of the pandemic, it seemed as though few current smokers were getting seriously ill, although former smokers were at high risk. Did anything come of that?
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- SturgeonsLaw 6y ago
  That has been observed, and nicotine proposed as a potential therapeutic aid. The mechanism could be because the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein binds to the same nicotinic acetylcholine receptors that nicotine binds to. > A total of 5960 patients were included in the studies identified. The current smoking prevalence ranged from 1.4% (95% CI 0.0–3.4%) to 12.6% (95% CI 10.6–14.6%). An unusually low prevalence of current smoking was observed from the pooled analysis (6.5%, 95% CI 4.9–8.2%) as compared to population smoking prevalence in China. The secondary analysis, classifying former smokers as current smokers, found a pooled estimate of 7.3% (95% CI 5.7–8.9%). In conclusion, an unexpectedly low prevalence of current smoking was observed among patients with COVID-19 in China, which was approximately 1/4th the population smoking prevalence. Although the generalized advice to quit smoking as a measure to reduce health risk remains valid, the findings, together with the well-established immunomodulatory effects of nicotine, suggest that pharmaceutical nicotine should be considered as a potential treatment option in COVID-19. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7210099/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7210099/ > Based on the early observations of the lower than expected smoking prevalence in hospitalised COVID-19 patients, Changeux and colleagues suggested a role for nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in the pathophysiology of COVID-19 via a direct interaction between these receptors and the viral spike (S) glycoprotein.11 This suggestion was based in the fact that the S protein from SARS-CoV-2 contains a sequence motif similar to known nAChR antagonists11 (Figure S1), such as α-bungarotoxin from Bungarus multicinctus and glycoprotein from Rabies lyssavirus (formerly Rabies virus). Changeux et al. also proposed that COVID-19 might be controlled or mitigated by the use of nicotine, if the latter can sterically or allosterically compete with the virus for binding to these receptors.9,11 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7386492/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7386492/

noodlenotes 6y ago

I remember at the beginning of the pandemic, it seemed as though few current smokers were getting seriously ill, although former smokers were at high risk. Did anything come of that?

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
SturgeonsLaw 6y ago
That has been observed, and nicotine proposed as a potential therapeutic aid. The mechanism could be because the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein binds to the same nicotinic acetylcholine receptors that nicotine binds to. > A total of 5960 patients were included in the studies identified. The current smoking prevalence ranged from 1.4% (95% CI 0.0–3.4%) to 12.6% (95% CI 10.6–14.6%). An unusually low prevalence of current smoking was observed from the pooled analysis (6.5%, 95% CI 4.9–8.2%) as compared to population smoking prevalence in China. The secondary analysis, classifying former smokers as current smokers, found a pooled estimate of 7.3% (95% CI 5.7–8.9%). In conclusion, an unexpectedly low prevalence of current smoking was observed among patients with COVID-19 in China, which was approximately 1/4th the population smoking prevalence. Although the generalized advice to quit smoking as a measure to reduce health risk remains valid, the findings, together with the well-established immunomodulatory effects of nicotine, suggest that pharmaceutical nicotine should be considered as a potential treatment option in COVID-19. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7210099/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7210099/ > Based on the early observations of the lower than expected smoking prevalence in hospitalised COVID-19 patients, Changeux and colleagues suggested a role for nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in the pathophysiology of COVID-19 via a direct interaction between these receptors and the viral spike (S) glycoprotein.11 This suggestion was based in the fact that the S protein from SARS-CoV-2 contains a sequence motif similar to known nAChR antagonists11 (Figure S1), such as α-bungarotoxin from Bungarus multicinctus and glycoprotein from Rabies lyssavirus (formerly Rabies virus). Changeux et al. also proposed that COVID-19 might be controlled or mitigated by the use of nicotine, if the latter can sterically or allosterically compete with the virus for binding to these receptors.9,11 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7386492/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7386492/