The study looks at why COVID is life-threatening for some people and specifically looks at immune genes.
This international study, led by Edinburgh University, analyses
the DNA from more than 24,000 people who had COVID-19 and needed intensive care treatment. This third Nature paper from the GenOMICC study has again demonstrated associations between host genetic variants and outcomes in ICU. This study was the first to show this in ICU patients. They found 49 DNA sequences that are associated with becoming critically ill from COVID-19. Sixteen of these had not been reported previously. These provide potential targets for therapies. The UCD group leads this project in Ireland, and it will continue beyond COVID-19 looking at influenza, other respiratory illnesses, and ICU conditions.
Alistair is Professor of Critical Care Medicine at UCD’s School of Medicine. We congratulate him and all those involved in Ireland and beyond in reporting these important findings.
Read the Nature article here.