New York (The Hawk): An Indian-origin researcher has shown that Covid-19 can change a person's genetic makeup, which can increase the spread of disease and lead to greater worsening in diabetes and related heart disease.
According to Dinender Singla, Chair of Cardiovascular Science at the College of Medicine at the University of Central Florida, people with diabetes or those who are predisposed to the disease are more likely to develop post-Covid inflammatory conditions that affect the heart and brain due to their genetic make-up.
In an article that was published in the American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology, he looked into the mechanics of Covid-19, its potential impacts on people with high-risk diabetes, as well as how the virus might worsen the condition and cause heart failure and inflammation.
According to Singla, "Covid-19 could have three important long-term effects on patients."
"Cognitive dysfunction is one; it can result in Alzheimer's disease. Second, it can worsen pre-diabetic symptoms or pre-diabetic patients' diabetes. Third, it can make diabetes-related issues like cardiomyopathy or muscular dysfunction worse "He clarified.
Some diabetic patients with Covid-19 infection may have established a distinct blood cellular composition from diabetic ones without Covid.
He will now examine specific cellular variations between diabetics with and without a Covid infection as the next phase in his investigation.
In comparison to non-COVID diabetic individuals, "our goal is to look at if there is a difference in blood composition or variations in cytokines — proteins that alter communications between cells," Singla added.
If any variations are found, the type of disorders they might possibly exacerbate or create in those patients would need to be investigated, the doctor continued.
More than 600 million individuals worldwide have been impacted by COVID-19, and although immunizations have rendered the virus less worrisome than it was two years ago, Dr. Singla noted there are still many unsolved issues regarding its long-term effects on health.
Singla is currently seeking to secure financing to investigate the unresolved issues brought on by the virus.
(Inputs from Agencies)
