We are in the middle of an unprecedented global health crisis that is particularly dangerous for the elderly and for people with underlying health conditions like diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. But data collected over the last few months show that many patients who get catch the COVID-19 infection may also go on to develop diabetes. Of course, by now, you know that this is an unpredictable disease that reveals new things about itself almost on a daily basis. This is also one of the main reasons why scientists are finding it difficult to find a vaccine for it.
In a significant find, a new study has said that the new variant of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 may actually trigger the onset of diabetes in healthy people. This is besides causing severe complications of pre-existing diabetes. According to the researchers from King’s College London, given the short period of human contact with the new strain of coronavirus, the exact mechanism by which the virus influences glucose metabolism is still unclear. Diabetes is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases and researchers are now realising the consequences of the inevitable clash between the two pandemics.
Researchers say that they are not sure whether the acute manifestation of diabetes in these patients represent classic type 1, type 2 or possibly a new form of diabetes.
Tracking COVID-19 patients who develop diabetes
An international research project called ‘CoviDiab Registry’ has announced the formation of a global registry that will track COVID-19 cases in which the patient goes on to develop diabetes, according to a letter from 17 diabetes experts recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The registry aims to understand the extent and the characteristics of the manifestations of diabetes in patients with COVID-19, and the best strategies for the treatment and monitoring of affected patients, during and after the pandemic. Clinical observations so far show a bi-directional relationship between COVID-19 and diabetes. On the one hand, pre-existing diabetes increases risk of COVID-19 severity and mortality. Researchers say that between 20 and 30 per cent of patients who died with from this disease also had diabetes. But again, on the other hand, new-onset diabetes and atypical metabolic complications of pre-existing diabetes, including life-threatening ones, have been observed in people with COVID-19. But it is still unclear how SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, impacts diabetes.
COVID-19 causes complex dysfunctions of glucose metabolism
Previous research has shown that ACE-2, the protein that binds to SARS-Cov-2 allowing the virus to enter human cells, is not only located in the lungs but also in organs and tissues involved in glucose metabolisms such as the pancreas, the small intestine, the fat tissue, the liver and the kidney. Researchers hypothesise that by entering these tissues, the virus may cause multiple and complex dysfunctions of glucose metabolism. It has also been known for many years that virus infections can precipitate type 1 diabetes. The registry focuses on routinely collected clinical data that will help researchers examine insulin secretory capacity, insulin resistance and autoimmune antibody status to understand how COVID-19 related diabetes develops.
With inputs from (IANS)