Resistant bacteria caused 1.27 million deaths in 2019, and unfortunately this number is multiplying year by year.Continue reading
Hungarian research into COVID could end with a patent, the director of research, development and innovation at the Hungarian National Blood Transfusion Service told InfoRadio. János Nacsa said that a newly produced molecule called “Factor H” is able to prevent inflammatory processes, Infostart reports.
One of the basic ideas behind the COVID research was a decades-old concept – the principle of passive immunity – that those who are cured of the disease have substances in their blood that protect against infection, hence this can be passed on to patients who need protection. However, a group of Hungarian researchers observed that, despite being in a serious condition and on assisted ventilation, someone got better quickly.
It was hypothesized that not only could the basic idea of transfused immunity work, but also other substances.
“We started to look at what molecules might be behind this, looking for what other molecules that are part of a strong inflammation, in a pre-cytokine storm state, could save the patient with it, without being able to recall something, professor János Nacsa told emphasized.
The molecule is called “Factor H,” a “complement system”, a very ancient basic version of the immune system, which can inhibit the inflammatory process. It is a natural molecule, found in humans, more in some, less in others, and the literature suggests that it is indeed linked to being more protected against the development of a serious inflammatory process. From this, the researchers started to develop modified versions of this molecule and to see if they could be used experimentally to see if it really does inhibit the inflammatory process in a cellular system under laboratory conditions.
János Nacsa revealed that their discovery will become a patent because this molecule has never been produced in this form by anyone else. On the exploitation of the research, the professor said that it could be used as an infusion and that the “Factor H” extracted from plasma could have a protective effect when there are already certain signs of a cytokine storm (pathological reaction in humans in which the innate immune system causes an uncontrolled and excessive release of pro-inflammatory signaling molecules called cytokines).
Another potential use could be to “flush” inflammatory substances from the blood with these molecules.
“We use a machine called plasmapheresis to pump the blood of a patient with inflammatory substances in poor condition through this system, and if we can bind it with very specific molecules, we can have a very rapid effect in as little as an hour or two, by removing the dangerous inflammatory substances that would endanger their life,” detailed János Nacsa.
In addition, news broke a few days ago that the omicron variant virus, FLiRT, identified in the United States, may also appear in Hungary. Virologist Gábor Kemenesi said that anyone going to busy places during summer sports events or on holiday, especially if they are elderly or have a chronic illness, should wear a mask.
Sporting events such as the UEFA Euro 2024 and the Olympics, as well as summer travel, are contributing to the spread of the virus. For weeks now, virologists have been preparing for a summer outbreak.
FLiRT presents with general respiratory symptoms of infection – fever, headache, runny nose.
The virologist noted that it is rare, but the infection can cause serious complications in healthy young people. However, elderly people, chronically ill and cancer patients, and organ transplant recipients should be especially careful. “If you go to a place where you know there might be a lot of people or even if you are in a risk group, you might be advised to wear an FFP mask,” stressed the expert, adding the vaccine is being continuously adapted to the virus variants, therefore the right vaccine for FLiRT will be available soon.
Via Infostart, Index; Featured image via Pixabay
