Key points:
- Severe cases of COVID-19 often include GI symptoms
- Adverse infections associated with true COVID-19 are also associated with altered gut microbiota
- A growing body of evidence suggests that poor gut health adversely affects prognosis
- If studies implicitly show a link between the gut microbiota and the severity of COVID-19, interventions such as probiotics or fecal transplantation may help patients
Washington, DC – January 12, 2021 – People with COVID-19 infection experience a wide range of symptoms and symptoms, the most commonly reported of which include high fever and respiratory problems . However, autopsy and other studies have also shown that the disease can affect the liver, kidney, heart, spleen – and even the gastrointestinal tract. Diarrhea, nausea and vomiting occur in a high proportion of hospitalized patients with respiratory problems, suggesting that the entry of the virus into the GI tract increases the severity of the infection. .
In a study published this week in? MBio,? microbiologist Heenam Stanley Kim, Ph.D, of the University of Korea Laboratory for Human-Microbial Interactions, in Seoul, examined evidence that reveals that poor gut health is adversely affected air prognosis COVID-19. Based on his analysis, Kim suggested that gut dysfunction – and the associated leaky gut – may increase the severity of the infection by allowing the virus to reach the surface of the digestive tract and the gut. internal organs. These organs are susceptible to disease because they have a broad ACE2 – a protein target of SARS-CoV-2 – on the surface.
“There seems to be a clear link between the modified gut microbiome and solid COVID-19,” Kim said.
Studies have shown that people with basic health conditions including high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity have a higher risk of COVID-19 pregnancy. Risk also increases with age, with older adults at risk of the most serious complications and the likelihood of hospitalization. But both of these factors – advanced age and chronic diseases – are known to be linked to altered gut microbiota. This imbalance can affect the integrity of gut obstruction, Kim noted, allowing pathogens and pathobionts easier access to cells in the intestinal lining.
To date, the link between gut health and COVID-19 prognosis has not been empirically confirmed, Kim noted. Some researchers have argued, he said, that unhealthy microorganisms may be the root cause of why some people have such serious diseases.
The studies conducted look at complex relationships. A study of COVID-19 model patients in Singapore, for example, found that about half of those with a level of coronavirus were found in fecal tests – but only about half of those GI symptoms. That study suggests that even if SARS-CoV-2 reaches the GI range, it may not cause complications. Kim also noted that a person’s gut health at the time of infection may be essential for symptom development.
Many recent studies have found that there is less bacterial diversity in gut samples collected from COVID-19 patients, compared to samples from healthy individuals. The disease has also been linked to infestation of beneficial bacterial strains – and enrichment of pathogenic ones. A similar imbalance has been associated with influenza A infection, although the two viruses differ in how they alter the overall microbial balance.
The reduced bacterial strains associated with COVID-19 infection include some families that are dependent on the production of butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid, which plays a vital role in gut health. by strengthening gut blocking action.
Kim said he began analyzing the studies after realizing that rich countries with good medical infrastructure – including the United States and countries in western Europe – were among those hardest hit by the virus. The “western diet” common in these countries is low in fiber, and “a diet lacking in fiber is one of the main causes of altered gut microorganisms,” he said, “and such of gut microbiome dysbiosis leading to chronic diseases. ”
The pathogenesis of COVID-19 is not yet fully understood. If future studies show that gut health affects the prognosis of COVID-19, Kim said, then clinicians and researchers should take advantage of that link for pre- better strategies aimed at prevention and control of the disease. Eating more fiber, he said, can reduce a person ‘s risk of serious illness. And fecal microbiota reprogramming may be a treatment worth considering for patients with the most severe cases of COVID-19.
The problem with gut health goes beyond COVID-19, however, he said. As soon as the pandemic passes, the world still has to think about breast diseases and other problems associated with poor gut health.
“The whole world is suffering from this COVID-19 pandemic,” Kim said, “but the thing that people don’t realize is that the pandemic of damaged gut microbiomes is far more dangerous now. . ”
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