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The world has around 180,000 people who died after being infected with the corona virus. The number of deaths increases every day. The topic dominates not only public discussion. The pandemic is also causing a sensation in science: how does the virus called Sars-Cov-2 kill in such different ways, and sometimes apparently arbitrarily? Specialized magazines publish thousands of articles each week that address questions about the seriously ill.
The scientific journal “Science” has summarized the above findings in an article. According to the report, the infection is believed to cause critical illness in about five percent of patients. However, the complications that mean death for many of them are not found only in lung function. Countless studies from around the world show that the coronavirus can also damage the kidneys, heart and blood vessels, the brain and possibly even the digestive tract.
Gateway to ACE2 receivers
Sars-Cov-2 uses so-called ACE2 receptors in the human body, which play an important role in regulating blood pressure. The virus then enters the cells. ACE2 receptors are present in many places on the body. Among other things, in the nose or throat, where the virus is absorbed by drops from the environment in case of infection.
Once in a human cell, the virus copies itself and attacks other cells. It slowly spreads to the lungs through the respiratory tract. It takes the path of oxygen to the alveoli, where the capillaries form the transition to the bloodstream. Healthy oxygen transport is hampered by the reaction of the immune system. There is fluid formation and an accumulation of dead cells. This is the condition of pneumonia, which in some cases requires artificial respiration and, in the worst case, can lead to death.
Fight on different fronts.
Many patients also show symptoms that are actually typical of heart attacks. A study in Wuhan, China showed that 20 percent of the 416 hospitalized corona patients had heart damage. Cardiac arrhythmias were also found in a large number of patients.
Some doctors also report narrowing of the blood vessels, which sometimes leads to tissue death in the fingers and toes and corresponding bruising. This would explain why diabetes and high blood pressure are associated with Covid-19 as special risk factors.
Overall, there is increasing evidence that Sars-Cov-2 attacks blood vessels and the heart. The exact appearance of the mechanism is controversial.
Blood clots could play an important role.
But the blood itself is also apparently affected: An intensive care unit in the Netherlands found a lump in the blood in a quarter of Covid-19 patients examined. This can lead to constipation of vital blood vessels, pulmonary embolism, or a stroke. Behnood Bikdeli, heart and blood vessel specialist at Columbia University Medical Center in New York: “The closer we look, the more likely blood clots will play a role in the severity of the disease and the death rate Covid-19 “.
Figures from China show that many coronavirus patients also have protein and blood in their urine. This indicates kidney damage. Reports of kidney failure are increasing. Hongbo Jia of the Suzhou Chinese Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology clearly sees the lungs as a “primary battle zone.” “But part of the virus can attack the kidney. It is like in a real war: if two places are attacked at the same time, the situation in both places worsens.
Seizures like brain trauma, blood in the stool.
The fact that many Covid-19 patients complain of loss of sense of smell suggests that the coronavirus also affects the nervous system. In a New York hospital, 5 to 10 percent of crown patients should be neurologically examined. Some of them have inflammation in the brain, some experience seizures as if they had suffered a brain trauma. It is not clear how the virus affects the brain. However, ACE2 receptors may also play a role in this case.
The effects of Sars-Cov-2 on the digestive tract are also unclear. One thing is for sure: Most patients suffer from diarrhea. There are also reports of patients vomiting and having stomach pain, and in extreme cases they even have blood in their stool. It is not known whether the virus can spread through the stool. However, the genetic material of Sars-Cov-2 has already been found by examining stool samples. However, scientists suspect that there is little risk of transmission in this way.
