TM FLOW AND COVID-19

TM-Flow markers and patient at risk for suffering the effects of the new Coronavirus. 

 

It has become increasingly clear that patients who suffer the most from COVID-19 are those with pre-existing health conditions - obesity, diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, respiratory disease. In addition, what is now being discovered about this disease is that endothelial dysfunction is the main cause of the worst suffering. I've attached a new University of Zurich publication that explains these findings. Here are some key excerpts from a press release commenting on the publication (http://www.en.usz.ch/media/press-releases/pages/ covid-19-endotheliitis.aspx)

"Researchers have concluded that the virus does not attack the host via the lungs, as was previously assumed, but instead it directly attacks the body's defense system via the ACE2 receptors found in endothelial tissue, spreads and causes a general inflammation of the endothelial tissue, which disrupts its protective function. This means that the virus not only triggers the inflammation of the lungs, which then causes further complications, but is also directly responsible for systemic endothelins, an inflammation of all endothelial tissue in the body which affects all vessel beds – in heart, brain, lung and renal vessels as well as vessels in the intestinal tract. The consequences are fatal: this results in severe microcirculatory disturbances that damage the heart, trigger pulmonary embolisms and vascular occlusions in the brain and intestinal tract and can also lead to multiple organ failure and even death. 

 

The endothelial tissue of younger patients is usually capable of coping well with the attacks launched by the virus. The situation is different for patients suffering from hypertension, diabetes, heart failure or coronary heart diseases, all of which have one thing in common – their endothelial function is markedly impaired. If patients such as these become infected with SARS- COV-2, they will be particularly at risk, as their already weakened endothelial function will diminish even further, especially during the phase in which the virus reproduces the most. 

Dual-pronged approach to save high-risk patients

"Through our study, we are now able to provide evidence to back up our hypothesis that COVID-19 is not only able to affect the lungs, but also the blood vessels in different
organs. COVID is a systemic inflammation of the blood vessels and we may now also refer to the disease as COVID-Endotheliitis," said Prof. Frank Ruschitzka, Director of the Department of Cardiology, summarizing the findings to which cardiologists, infectiologists, pathologists and intensive care physicians have contributed.