New sweat sensor can alert impending Covid cytokine storm
By IANS |
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New York, April 19 : Scientists have developed a sweat sensor that acts as an early warning system for a looming cytokine storm a surge of pro-inflammatory immune proteins , which could help doctors more effectively treat patients Covid-19.
Doctors have previously recognised that patients who developed a cytokine storm were often the sickest and at highest risk of dying. But a cytokine storm can also occur in other illnesses, such as influenza. Especially now in the context of Covid-19, if you could monitor pro-inflammatory cytokines and see them trending upwards, you could treat patients early, even before they develop symptoms, said Shalini Prasad, the project s principal investigator at the University of Texas at Dallas, US.
By Rick Lovett
A smartwatch has been developed that could potentially revolutionize detection and treatment of COVID-19.
The wrist-worn device identifies patients at the highest risk of dying through their sweat. It picks up signs of a potentially deadly over-reaction by the immune system.
Antibodies ravage the heart, lungs, and other organs, triggering inflammation. The phenomenon, known as a cytokine storm, is a major reason COVID kills. Especially now in the context of COVID-19, if you could monitor pro-inflammatory cytokines and see them trending upwards, you could treat patients early, even before they develop symptoms, says principal investigator Shalini Prasad, a professor and bioengineer at the University of Texas at Dallas, in a statement.
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New Sweat Sensor can Help Detect Cytokine Levels in COVID-19 Patients
Written by AZoSensorsApr 19 2021
During the initial days of the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors had found that patients who experienced a surge of pro-inflammatory immune proteins, called cytokine storm, were usually the sickest and faced the highest risk of death.
A wristwatch-like device measures cytokine levels in passive sweat. Image Credit: Kai-Chun Lin.
However, a cytokine storm can also take place in other illnesses, like influenza. At present, researchers have reported initial results on a sweat sensor that serves as an early warning system for an imminent cytokine storm, which could allow doctors to treat patients more effectively.
The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for Covid-19, the illness caused by the virus.