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Diseased lungs may hinder COVID-19 development: A possible reason for the low prevalence of COPD in COVID-19 patients.
Yong, Shin Jie.
  • Yong SJ; Department of Biological Sciences, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Selangor, Malaysia. Electronic address: shin.y7@imail.sunway.edu.my.
Med Hypotheses ; 153: 110628, 2021 Aug.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1272625
ABSTRACT
Presently, it remains unclear why the prevalence of lung diseases, namely chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is much lower than other medical comorbidities and the general population among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). If COVID-19 is a respiratory disease, why is COPD not the leading risk factor for contracting COVID-19? The same odd phenomenon was also observed with other pathogenic human coronaviruses causing severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), but not other respiratory viral infections such as influenza and respiratory syncytial viruses. One commonly proposed reason for the low COPD rates among COVID-19 patients is the usage of inhaled corticosteroids or bronchodilators that may protect against COVID-19. However, another possible reason not discussed elsewhere is that lungs in a diseased state may not be conducive for the severe acute respiratory distress syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to establish COVID-19. For one, COPD causes mucous plugging in large and small airways, which may hinder SARS-CoV-2 from reaching deeper parts of the lungs (i.e., alveoli). Thus, SARS-CoV-2 may only localize to the upper respiratory tract of persons with COPD, causing mild or asymptomatic infections requiring no hospital attention. Even if SARS-CoV-2 reaches the alveoli, cells therein are probably under a heavy burden of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and extensively damaged where it may not support efficient viral replication. As a result, limited SARS-CoV-2 virions would be produced in diseased lungs, preventing the development of COVID-19.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / COVID-19 Type of study: Observational study / Prognostic study Topics: Long Covid Limits: Humans Language: English Journal: Med Hypotheses Year: 2021 Document Type: Article

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / COVID-19 Type of study: Observational study / Prognostic study Topics: Long Covid Limits: Humans Language: English Journal: Med Hypotheses Year: 2021 Document Type: Article