HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Scientists are getting better understanding about the benefits of a specific antibody therapy for a post COVID inflammatory disease in children.
Dr. Maryanne Chrisant, medical director of pediatric cardiac transplant, heart failure and cardiomyopathy at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Heart Institute reviewed the data.
She said investigators believe the antibody treatment called I.V.I.G., which stands for intravenous immune globulin, depletes certain inflammatory immune cells called neutrophils in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C.
”I think it’s intriguing but I don’t think it’s the only part of the puzzle as far as these things go with the immune cascade and the immune puzzle. I think the most important part of this is what can be measured in the laboratory. How are neutrophils involved in the generation of an antibody like response that causes inflammation?” Chrisant said.
MIS-C can affect a number of organs including the heart, lungs, skin and eyes.
HIGH RISK FOR COVID-19
And people of color in the United States are facing higher risk of catching COVID-19.
That’s according to a study published in the JAMA Network Open.
Researchers found Black, Hispanic and Asian Americans are at a higher risk than whites of testing positive for COVID-19.
They’re also more likely to being admitted to an intensive care unit, too.
Two factors that play into the issue, according to researchers: people of color work in jobs where they interact with the public more and they are more likely to have pre-existing conditions.