Ketan Mahajan

Scientists have found that adults can be diagnosed with a fatal syndrome, which is more similar to COVID19 related symptoms in children. Researchers at the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have come up with this new study. They have termed this severe symptom as a multisystem inflammatory syndrome or MIS-A in adults. Scientists have claimed that it is quite similar to COVID19 related multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children or MIS-C. Experts have said that MIS-A is not associated with COVID19. People who suffer from such syndrome might not show any other symptoms, which indicate a possible coronavirus infection. However, some of the adults have lost their lives due to this deadly syndrome and it strangely affects racial and ethnic minorities like COVID19.

MIS-C has impacted hundreds of kids across the world. If these children get prompt treatment, they recover from it, said the experts. This condition leads to general inflammation but patients do not exhibit classic signs of COVID19 infection. The blood tests of such children show that kids develop this condition week after recovering from COVID19 infection. The CDC team has analyzed cases of 27 adults in the age range of 21 to 50 years who have been suffering from MIS-A. Most of them have been dealing with severe inflammation in their body. They have been experiencing a malfunction of the kidney, liver, and heart as well but not the lungs. Rigorous inflammation and extrapulmonary organ failure are the symptoms of severe COVID19 infection among adults; however, all these symptoms are accompanied by respiratory failure as well.

Some of the adults have complained of minimal respiratory symptoms like hypoxemia. Such cases have been essential to distinguish MIS-A from COVID19 infection. Nearly 8 out of 16 adults have reported having respiratory symptoms before the onset of MIS-A. Around one-third of 27 adults have been tested negative for COVID19. Nevertheless, they have been tested positive for antibodies. It indicates that they have been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the past. Most of the adults who have been diagnosed with MIS-A have been from racial and ethnic minority groups. Health officials have said that the health department should observe these adults with MIS-A, who have compatible signs and symptoms. They might not be diagnosed with COVID19 infection but there is a need to run an antibody test on them to determine whether they have been infected with coronavirus in the past.

Scientists from Germany have said that the Neanderthal gene inherited from ancestors might lead to severe COVID19 infection among some people. A team of Neanderthal genetic experts has been examining a DNA strand, which is said to be linked with some of the severe COVID19 cases. They have compared this DNA with a sequence, which has been passed down to European and Asian people from Neanderthal ancestors. This DNA strand has been identified in chromosome 3. Scientists have been able to found out certain variations in the sequence, which is linked to the risk of more severe COVID19 infection. Experts have said that the risk is originated from a genomic segment and it has been inherited from Neanderthals.

The study shows that nearly 50 percent of South Asians and 16 percent of Europeans might be carrying this gene. This gene has been inherited by modern age humans from Neanderthals. The report says that people who are carrying this gene variant are three times more likely to be on ventilators if they are infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The lead authors of the study have found a similar kind of DNA strand from a 50000 years old Neanderthal skeleton In Siberia. The research says that modern humans have crossbred with Neanderthals and a linked species called Denisovans around tens of thousands of years ago. As per the report, nearly 2 percent of DNA in European and Asian people can be traced back to Neanderthals.

Experts have not been able to find out which feature in the Neanderthal-derived region contributes to the risk of severe COVID19 infection. They have said that humans have a vast variety of genetic diversity and a couple of them had been found in our pre-human ancestors. Some of them had risen in Neanderthals and some had been traced back to the times when all the humans lived in Africa. A couple of genes have been found more recently as well. Experts have said that this DNA strand might be the reason behind a small percentage difference in the severity of the disease among COVID19 patients.

Many previous studies have shown that the menstrual cycle is an important aspect of women’s overall health. The menstrual cycle has been linked to several ailments such as cancer, heart diseases, metabolic problems, diabetes, and even mental disorders. As per a new study, the menstrual cycle also impacts life expectancy among women. Scientists from Harvard and Tongji Medical College in China have said that hormonal imbalance due to irregular periods is the main factor, which affects the health and lifespan among women. It increases the risk of heart diseases, diabetes, and cancer as well. The study has shown the data of around 80000 women with irregular and long menstrual cycles. It says that such women are at a higher risk of dying before age 70. This study has been published in the British Medical Journal.

Scientists have observed the data from a cohort study involving American nurses in the age group of 25 to 42 years. This study has started in 1989. The new study has gathered the data on volunteers’ lifestyle and health. Experts have enquired about the regularity and duration of their menstrual cycle as well. At the beginning of the study, volunteers have been asked to recall the nature of their periods from 14 to 17 years of age. After regulating other factors, experts have found that the women who have an irregular cycle of 40 or more days have been at a greater risk of dying early as compared to those who have a normal cycle of 26 to 30 days. Women with disrupted cycles are at a higher risk of cardiovascular ailments as well, said the experts. The study has shown that women who smoke and have disrupted and long cycles have been at 66 to 71 percent higher risk.

Experts have revealed that women who have missed their cycles at the adolescent age and in adulthood are twice as likely to be diagnosed with high blood pressure. Study shows that such women are susceptible to high cholesterol, diabetes, endometriosis, and uterine fibroids as well. Studies have come out with a shocking fact that young adolescent girls who miss their periods due to birth control pills are at higher risk of early death as compared to adults. Experts have said that using oral contraception can be dangerous for girls aged 14 to 17 years. However, the usage of birth control after the age of 18 has not been linked to the risk of death.