Researchers at German universities have identified immature blood cells that could signal coagulation complications in patients with COVID-19. Potential severe cases could now be detected at an earlier stage.
It is still unclear why many people infected with COVID-19 have mild symptoms or none at all while others experience severe cases or even die. In patients with severe COVID-19, the lungs become inflamed, and sometimes the heart or kidneys are also affected. Blood often overcoagulates, which can cause clots to form in the lungs. It is the most common acute cause of death in severe cases of COVID-19. Now, a team from universities and research institutes in northern and western Germany and the neighboring Netherlands has found a key indicator in the blood of COVID-19 patients that could serve as an early warning of a severe case.
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In the blood samples, scientists from the German Research Foundation's Precision Medicine in Chronic Inflammation Cluster of Excellence found platelet precursor cells, which may indicate problems with blood coagulation. As a rule, megakaryocytes, which contribute to the production of platelets, are found in the bone marrow. When megakaryocytes end up in the blood, they can indicate impending problems with coagulation, according to the study. That could indicate that these immature cells trigger the dangerous coagulation problems.
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The researchers also discovered a large number of immature red blood cells in the samples that under typical conditions would have matured in the bone marrow. These red blood cells are responsible for delivering oxygen through the body. An increase in red blood cell progenitor cells indicates a lack of oxygen a well-known emergency reaction in cases of severe lung diseases.
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"Together with other data such as clinical laboratory values and measurements of inflammatory messengers, we were able to create a kind of fingerprint, a signature, of the altered functioning of these cells and track it over time," said Dr. Neha Mishra, who is doing research at Kiel University's Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology as a postdoc. This "fingerprint" could be used to detect a potentially serious course of the disease at an early stage, which in turn means that emergency health care could be customized accordingly.
The findings were published in the scientific journal Immunity by an international research team from Kiel University, the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, and universities in Bonn, Cologne, Lübeck, Tübingen and Nijmegen. The Research Center Borstel-Leibniz Lung Center, the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and the German Research Foundation's Deutsche COVID-19 OMICS Initiative were also involved in the research.
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Pandemic profits: How some made billions during the COVID-19 crisis
How rich can you get?
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (pictured with his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez in front of the Taj Mahal) is in a class of his own. His e-commerce company has done brisk business in the pandemic, seeing Amazon shares hit new records. Bezos was the world's richest person even before the coronavirus crisis and has now become even richer. According to Forbes magazine, he's worth $193 billion (€161 billion).
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Pandemic profits: How some made billions during the COVID-19 crisis
Elon Musk eyes top slot
Elon Musk's Tesla produces cars, but on the stock exchange, it gets treated like a tech high flier. Musk's firm has profited from the market hype around tech stocks during the pandemic. A short while ago, the South African-born entrepreneur overtook Bill Gates on the world's richest people list. Worth some $132 billion, Musk is out to narrow the gap with Jeff Bezos.
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Pandemic profits: How some made billions during the COVID-19 crisis
Zooming in on Yuan
The growing number of people working from home during the pandemic is a big boon for Eric Yuan. The founder of Zoom moved from China to the US when he was 27-years-old. After some years with rival WebEx, he launched his own video communications platform, with Zoom going public in 2019. Since the coronavirus crisis, shares have exploded. Yuan is estimated to own some $19 billion.
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Pandemic profits: How some made billions during the COVID-19 crisis
Fit for success
Distancing rules and closed workout studios have played into the hands of John Foley. Back in 2013, he was still touting his connected workout equipment at Kickstarter. Today, people are willing to spend a lot on Peloton's at-home gym equipment. The company's shares have tripled during the pandemic, unexpectedly turning the almost 50-year-old Foley into a billionaire.
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Pandemic profits: How some made billions during the COVID-19 crisis
Conquering the whole world
Shopify enables traders to create their own online shops — a concept developed by Tobias Lütke. Born in Koblenz, Germany, he emigrated to Canada in 2002 and started out in a garage like so many other North Americans. Meanwhile, Shopify is Canada's most valuable enterprise, with its share price having doubled since March. Forbes magazine says 39-year-old Lütke is worth some $9 billion.
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Pandemic profits: How some made billions during the COVID-19 crisis
Billionaire overnight
As early as January this year, Ugur Sahin started backing the right horse by working on a COVID-19 vaccine. The drug developed by his Germany-based company BioNTech could soon secure medical approval. The vaccine has pushed Sahin, who hails from Turkey, into the public spotlight and made him super rich. The value of the shares he holds is estimated to be $2.4 billion.
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Pandemic profits: How some made billions during the COVID-19 crisis
Ingredients for success
Food services company HelloFresh is booming. Profits have more than tripled during the pandemic, figures from the latest quarterly earnings report showed in early November. Co-founder and shareholder Dominik Richter has been making the most of restaurants being closed. He's not quite in the same league as the richest pandemic profiteers, but he's got the right ingredients to catch up with them.
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Pandemic profits: How some made billions during the COVID-19 crisis
Amazon one more time
Jeff Bezos isn't the only one who's grown even richer through Amazon. Thanks to the shares she owns, Bezos' ex-wife MacKenzie Scott hit it big and climbed to top spot on the world's richest women list. She's estimated to be worth some $72 billion and obviously happened to be with the right partner at the right time.
Author: Nicolas Martin
This article was adapted from German by Dagmar Breitenbach.
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