Why are diabetic patients at higher risk from Covid-19?
- A team of Chinese researchers say it could be related to lower levels of a small molecule
- Supplements might help reduce the danger, they say
Chinese researchers have found a link between lower levels of a small molecule in diabetic patients and the risk of developing severe Covid-19, saying supplements might be able to help reduce the danger.
In a paper published in the peer-reviewed online journal Nature Metabolism on Monday, the researchers found that supplements of 1,5-AG, a blood biomarker for human diabetes, could reduce replication of the coronavirus in mice.
“These results indicate that 1,5-AG is an effective anti-Sars-CoV-2 serum metabolite that is downregulated by diabetes,” the authors wrote.
Cheng Gong, a professor at Tsinghua University’s school of medicine and a lead author of the paper, said the study showed diabetes patients could reduce the risk of developing severe Covid-19 by elevating the level of 1,5-AG, and there were different means to do that.
05:44
How traditional Chinese medicine is being used in the fight against Covid-19
“The level of 1,5-AG negatively correlated with blood glucose concentration. Clinically, if the level of blood glucose can effectively be reduced, the level of 1,5-AG will be elevated and reduce the risk of developing Covid-19,” Cheng said.