[ad_1]
Men’s blood has higher levels compared to women’s of a key enzyme usedand of the new coronavirus to infect cells, according to the results of months of a major European study. the could explain why mens I am much more vulnerableand COVID-19, reports Reuters, cited by Agerpres.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is found in the heart, kidneys, and other organs. In COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, is believed to play a role in how the infection progresses to the lungs.
The study, published in the European Heart Journal, also found that widely prescribed medications, ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (BRAs), did not lead to higher concentrations of ACE2 and therefore should not increase the risk of COVID. -19 in the case of people who take them.
ACE and ARB inhibitors are widely prescribed to patients with congestive heart failure, diabetes, or kidney disease. Drugs represent billions of dollars in prescription sales worldwide.
“Our findings do not support discontinuation of these medications in patients with COVID-19.“said study leader Adriaan Voors, a professor of cardiology at the University Medical Center (UMC) in Groningen, the Netherlands.
The COVID-19 pandemic has infected more than 4 million people worldwide and killed nearly 277,000, according to a Reuters report. The number of deaths and cases of infection indicates that men are more likely than women to contract the disease and suffer serious or critical complications.
Analyzing thousands of men and women, the Voors team measured ACE2 levels in blood samples taken from more than 3,500 heart failure patients in eleven European countries.
The study started before the coronavirus pandemic, the researchers said, so it did not include patients with COVID-19.
However, when other research began to indicate that ACE2 is a key enzyme behind the way the new coronavirus enters cells, Voors and his team noticed significant overlaps with their study.
“When I discovered that one of the strongest biological indicators, ACE2, was much higher in men than women, I realized that this had the potential to explain why men have a higher risk of death associated with COVID. – 19 compared to women“said Iziah Sama, a doctor at UMC Groningen, co-author of the study.
ACE2 is a cell surface receptor that binds to the new coronavirus and allows it to enter and infect cells.
Sama and Voors mentioned that, like in the lung, ACE2 is found in the heart, kidneys, tissues that line blood vessels, and, at particularly high levels, in the testicles.
They indicated that their presence in the testes could partially explain the higher concentrations of ACE2 in men and why men are more vulnerable to COVID-19.
