SafeHomeDIY
  • Home
  • Health
    • Health Today
    • Women’s Health
    • Safety
    • Health & Fitness
    • Weight Loss
  • Nutrition
    • Diet
    • Food & Recipe
    • Skin Care
  • Allergies & Diseases
    • Autism
    • Remedies
  • Pets
  • News
  • #COVID-19
  • Guest Post
SafeHomeDIY
Subscribe
SafeHomeDIY
  • Home
  • Health
    • Health Today
    • Women’s Health
    • Safety
    • Health & Fitness
    • Weight Loss
  • Nutrition
    • Diet
    • Food & Recipe
    • Skin Care
  • Allergies & Diseases
    • Autism
    • Remedies
  • Pets
  • News
  • #COVID-19
  • Guest Post
  • News

Coronavirus can more easily multiply in ‘stiff’ lung tissue seen in the elderly

  • May 1, 2020
  • SafeHomeDIY

‘Stiff’ lung tissue seen in the elderly may be why the novel coronavirus is more deadly to older patients, a new review article suggests.

The virus invades mucosal cells – cells that produce mucus – before multiplying and spreading throughout the body.

Researchers say the virus replicates itself better in these stiff cells, found in the lungs and upper respiratory tracts of older people, which allows the disease to spread faster.

The team, led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says its findings indicate the prevalence of the virus may not be due to the weakening of the elderly’s immune systems as many scientists suspect.

Coronavirus first enters the cells that produce mucus before 'hijacking' the machinery to replicate itself and spread throughout the body. Pictured: EMTs transport a patient from a nursing home to an emergency room bed at St Joseph's Hospital in Yonkers, NY. April 20

Coronavirus first enters the cells that produce mucus before 'hijacking' the machinery to replicate itself and spread throughout the body. Pictured: EMTs transport a patient from a nursing home to an emergency room bed at St Joseph's Hospital in Yonkers, NY. April 20

Coronavirus first enters the cells that produce mucus before ‘hijacking’ the machinery to replicate itself and spread throughout the body. Pictured: EMTs transport a patient from a nursing home to an emergency room bed at St Joseph’s Hospital in Yonkers, NY. April 20

These cells, found in the lungs and respiratory tract, are 'stiffer' in older patients due to more protein fibers. Pictured: An elderly woman is released from New York Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital in New York City, April 21

These cells, found in the lungs and respiratory tract, are 'stiffer' in older patients due to more protein fibers. Pictured: An elderly woman is released from New York Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital in New York City, April 21

These cells, found in the lungs and respiratory tract, are ‘stiffer’ in older patients due to more protein fibers. Pictured: An elderly woman is released from New York Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital in New York City, April 21

Researchers say this stiff tissue provides the best conditions for the virus to multiply and infect other cells. Pictured: An elderly woman suspected of having COVID-19 is brought into Wyckoff Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, April 17

Researchers say this stiff tissue provides the best conditions for the virus to multiply and infect other cells. Pictured: An elderly woman suspected of having COVID-19 is brought into Wyckoff Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, April 17

Researchers say this stiff tissue provides the best conditions for the virus to multiply and infect other cells. Pictured: An elderly woman suspected of having COVID-19 is brought into Wyckoff Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, April 17

When humans are infected with the new strain, known as SARS-COV-2, the virus first attacks cells that secrete mucus in the respiratory tract.   

After the virus invades a cell, it ‘hijacks’ the machinery of the cells to replicate itself thousands of times.

These copies infect other cells the body or are expelled via droplets from a cough or sneeze that then infect other cells.

In older people, tissue in the lungs and respiratory tract are stiffer due to a larger supply of protein fibers, according to the researchers.   

The researchers say stiff cells ‘favor the multiplication of the virus’ meaning they replicate themselves easier. 

‘Biopsies or cell culture experiments could now be used to determine whether this is indeed the case,’ they wrote. 

The team says this could help scientists determine where to focus their efforts as they research and develop drugs to fight against the virus.

For example, several drugs are being examined to see if they can prevent the virus from entering the cell to begin with. 

‘Given our hypothesis, and that coronavirus entry into a cell is similar even in those with mild symptoms, the quest for drugs should also include inhibitors that intersect with coronavirus replication and the mechanical properties of cells,’ the authors wrote.

‘It’s essential that research on SARS-CoV-2 focus not just on the virus itself, but also on how the virus behaves in the cells of young and old people.’ 

Worldwide, the virus has infected more than 3.x million people and led to more than 208,000 deaths.

In the US, there are more than 1.02 million confirmed cases of the virus and more than 58,000 deaths. 

Source: Daily Mail | Health News

SafeHomeDIY

Health - Relationships - Lifestyle Related matters. It's All About your Safety First - It's All About You

Previous Article
  • Food & Recipe

Queen’s former chef reveals recipe to Kate Middleton’s favourite dessert of sticky toffee pudding

  • May 1, 2020
  • SafeHomeDIY
View Post
Next Article
  • News

15,000 ‘excess deaths’ in the US suggest that many more died of COVID

  • May 1, 2020
  • SafeHomeDIY
View Post
You May Also Like
The gadget, worn on the wrist, uses laser sensors to detect any sudden change in blood flow that would indicate heavy bleeding in the body. Post-partum haemorrhage accounts for roughly a tenth of all maternal deaths in the UK
View Post
  • News

HEALTH NOTES: New gadget can spot life-threatening bleeding after birth

  • SafeHomeDIY
  • September 23, 2023
RFK Jr. Calls the Biden Administration on the Carpet Over the Southern Border
View Post
  • News

RFK Jr. Calls the Biden Administration on the Carpet Over the Southern Border

  • SafeHomeDIY
  • September 23, 2023
Today's reader asked DR ELLIE CANNON whether her GP was wrong to refuse to test her middle aged son for prostate cancer despite a family history of the disease
View Post
  • News

DR ELLILE CANNNON: My GP is refusing to test my son for prostate cancer  – is this right?

  • SafeHomeDIY
  • September 23, 2023
Celebrities such as Lady Gaga, pictured, and Morgan Freeman suffer from the chronic pain condition fibromyalgia
View Post
  • News

Patients with fibromyalgia left in agony due to 'cruel' ban on drugs by NHS chiefs to treat the chronic pain condition whose sufferers include Lady Gaga

  • SafeHomeDIY
  • September 23, 2023
Kylie Minogue lived with the 'toll' fame can have on your mental health – and more
View Post
  • News

Kylie Minogue lived with the 'toll' fame can have on your mental health – and more

  • SafeHomeDIY
  • September 23, 2023
Tuberculosis: Warning Medieval disease is on the rise as cases surge across UK
View Post
  • News

Tuberculosis: Warning Medieval disease is on the rise as cases surge across UK

  • SafeHomeDIY
  • September 23, 2023
WATCH: Matt Gaetz Causes CNN Host to End Interview After Fact-Checking Her Live On-Air
View Post
  • News

WATCH: Matt Gaetz Causes CNN Host to End Interview After Fact-Checking Her Live On-Air

  • SafeHomeDIY
  • September 23, 2023
Newsom Just Accidentally Revealed the Reason He Is Not Running for POTUS in 2024
View Post
  • News

The Hidden Factors Driving up Gas Prices in California

  • SafeHomeDIY
  • September 23, 2023
Recent Posts
  • HEALTH NOTES: New gadget can spot life-threatening bleeding after birth
  • RFK Jr. Calls the Biden Administration on the Carpet Over the Southern Border
  • DR ELLILE CANNNON: My GP is refusing to test my son for prostate cancer  – is this right?
  • The Shady Details Involving Harry Jowsey And Georgia Hassarati's Split
  • I was in one of the biggest bands of the 90s – but I quit fame after onstage collapse and now I’m a farmer
Safe Home DIY
  • Guest Post
  • Disclaimer and Disclosure
  • Term of Use
Health - Relationships - Lifestyle Related matters. It's All About your Safety First - It's All About You

Input your search keywords and press Enter.