Latest News

Scientists identify new gene differences in severe COVID patients

Published

3 years ago

Farwa

The scientists said their discoveries, could help prioritise the likely treatments that could work against the disease.
The information could even help predict which patients were likely to become severely ill.
The new findings could help guide scientists in their search for existing drugs that might be useful for treating COVID-19.

Scientists have pinpointed 16 new genetic variants in people who developed severe COVID-19 in a large study published on Monday that could help researchers develop treatments for very sick patients.

The results suggest that people with severe COVID have genes that predispose them to one of two problems: failure to limit the ability of the virus to make copies of itself, or excessive inflammation and blood clotting.

The scientists said their discoveries, published in the journal Nature, could help prioritise the likely treatments that could work against the disease.

Eventually, the information could even help predict which patients were likely to become severely ill.

“It is potentially possible in future that we will be able to make predictions about patients based on their genome at the point of presenting (for) critical care,” said Kenneth Baillie, consultant in critical care medicine at the University of Edinburgh and one of the study authors, told reporters.

The genetic analysis of nearly 56,000 samples from people in Britain showed differences in 23 genes in COVID-19 patients who became critically ill, when compared with the DNA of other groups included in the study, including 16 differences that had not been previously identified.

The new findings could help guide scientists in their search for existing drugs that might be useful for treating COVID-19.

For example, the researchers found changes in key genes that regulate the level of factor VIII, a protein involved in forming blood clots.

“Blood clotting is one of the main reasons why patients with COVID develop a shortage of oxygen. So that’s potentially targetable to prevent those clots from forming,” Baillie said.

But “we can’t know if these medicines will work until we try them in people”.

One of the previously discovered genes, TYK2, is targeted by Eli Lilly’s arthritis drug baricitinib, now being studied as a treatment for COVID-19.

The drug was shown last week to cut the risk of death and hospitalisation in COVID-19 patients by 13% in a trial.

Latest News

Crackdown on Smuggling: More than 13,000 Metric Tonnes of Fertilisers Found

Published

12 hours ago

Farwa

Economic growth is at risk due to smuggling. There is a continual crackdown to maintain public safety and a stable economy.

Between October 20 and 28, 131,000 litres of Iranian oil, 71 metric tonnes of grain, 293 pieces of cloth, and 1,105 cartons of cigarettes were confiscated by the authorities.

Since September 1, 2023, a total of 17.548 million litres of Iranian oil, 13,088.75 metric tonnes of fertilisers, 3,755.69 metric tonnes of flour, 35,129.1 metric tonnes of sugar, 4,381,102 cartonnes of cigarettes, and 155,037 pieces of fabric have been blocked.

Latest News

Mushaal Mullick Speaks at the RCC: Supports Palestinian and Kashmiri Rights

Published

12 hours ago

Farwa

At a meeting held today at the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce, Mushaal Hussein Mullick, the chairperson of the Peace and Culture Organisation and the widow of detained Kashmiri leader Mohammad Yasin Malik, was the chief guest. With a renowned delegation that included Dr. Owais Malik, Prof. Zafar Sindhu, and Kashmiri businessman Ishtiaq Bhatt, Mullick spoke about urgent issues pertaining to Indian crimes in Jammu and Kashmir and showed support for the Palestinian people.

The event ended with a protest walk with senior business leaders, civil society members, and the head of the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce. In light of current conflicts, participants came together to express their concerns about human rights breaches and to stress the significance of worldwide awareness and action.

Latest News

12th IDEAS 2024 Edition. CM Sindh’s event to strengthen strategic ties with international partners

Published

12 hours ago

Farwa

IDEAS 2024 will improve commercial exchanges between delegates, trade visitors, defence officials, and OEMs from all across Pakistan and the world, according to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah. It will also increase Pakistan’s strategic ties with its international allies.

Speaking during the 12th Edition of Ideas 2024’s 3rd steering committee meeting in Karachi, Murad Ali Shah stated that since the event’s founding in 2000, ideas have emerged as a defining characteristic of the national and international defence sector.

According to him, this twice-yearly occasion has gradually developed into a legendary assembly that promotes information sharing both inside and outside of Pakistan and displays cutting-edge technology.

The fact that IDEAS is now acknowledged globally, he continued, is evidence of the strong and advantageous ties we have with our international partners.

The Director General of Depo, Major General Asad Nawaz Khan, HI(M), led the second session, which was held to support the ongoing national-level preparations for this strategically significant event.