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Foto: Herney Gómez via Pixabay
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The University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) has started an investigation into the defense against COVID-19.
About 130 Lifelines participants who indicated that they had tested positive for the coronavirus were invited to donate extra blood during their study. As a result, a team of UMCG scientists hopes to gain more insight into factors that determine the severity of the disease course in a coronavirus infection.
Using blood samples
One of the recurring questions in the Lifelines Corona study is whether a participant has tested positive. In addition, a series of in-depth questions will follow, which have been repeated (bi) weekly since March.
The UMCG team, consisting of Debbie van Baarle and Anke Huckriede (department of Medical Microbiology) and Lude Franke (department of Genetics), will use the blood samples to gain insight into the built-up resistance against the virus in order to better predict who is at risk of severe Covid-19.
This can be used to study which people make antibodies, to what extent this happens and for how long the antibodies remain present. It can also be investigated whether this affects their health.
Role of heredity
This Northern corona study previously showed that heredity plays a role in the extent to which someone becomes ill from the virus. Franke: “The picture that now emerges suggests that the immune system in people who are seriously ill due to corona is tuned differently. That is partly hereditary. “
In addition, other factors, such as previous exposure to already circulating coronaviruses, may play a role in the disease course. With the unique data and blood samples from Lifelines, a contribution can be made to insights into these systems.
The research team is investigating the possibilities of studying the immune system in a larger group of Lifelines participants. Franke: “A great deal is known about each Lifelines participant about their health, lifestyle, family relationships and more. And that of the past 15 years. This collection of health data is of great value for scientific research into corona. ”
The Lifelines Corona study is a joint initiative of the UMCG, the University of Groningen, the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health and Lifelines.
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