Scientists Develop Quick Test To Assess Risk Of Developing Severe COVID-19 - Report

Scientists Develop Quick Test to Assess Risk of Developing Severe COVID-19 - Report

A group of American scientists developed a one-minute blood test that allows to assess immune responses in patients with COVID-19 and predict the severity of symptoms they will manifest, according to a report published by the journal Nature

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th December, 2021) A group of American scientists developed a one-minute blood test that allows to assess immune responses in patients with COVID-19 and predict the severity of symptoms they will manifest, according to a report published by the journal Nature.

The research analyzed the immune response dynamics in samples gathered from 153 COVID-19 patients and 142 healthy subjects. The results showed that in severe cases of COVID-19, patients' immune responses were skewed towards type 2 antibody-mediated immunity, while in asymptomatic or mild cases, patients had stronger type 1 cell-mediated immunity.

The two types of immunity together form the human body's defense system against infectious pathogens, especially intracellular pathogens such as viruses. When the frontline type 1 immune response fails, the type 2 initiates and neutralizes the virus by producing virus-specific antibodies. Measuring the relative balance of type 1 and type 2 immune responses allows to predict the clinical severity of viral infections, including COVID-19.

The testing method was previously tried on animals using a gold nanoparticle to simulate a virus pathogen and observe immune responses.

"Based on these animal studies, we hypothesize that the... immunity test may be able to detect the immune status change in COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, if the clinical severity of the COVID-19 patients is associated with the relative balance between the type 1 versus type 2 immunity, the test may be able to detect this difference and the result may be used to predict the clinical risk of the patients," the report said.

The proposed test requires blood samples obtained from finger prick and produces the result in less than a minute. However, the researchers said more extensive clinical studies are needed to further validate the test.