Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
A small preliminary study by researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital suggests that people who develop severe COVID-19 have noticeably blunted antiviral responses in the nose and throat, where the body first encounters the virus.
The study, published Thursday in the journal Cell, suggests that the body’s initial response in the nasopharynx – referred to by researchers as a key “battleground” located in the nose and throat – will help determine who develops severe disease and who will get through with mild illness.
"Why some people get more sick than others has been one of the most puzzling aspects of this virus from the beginning," Jose Ordovas-Montanes, co-senior investigator on the study, said in a press release.
"Many studies looking for risk predictors have looked for signatures in the blood, but blood may not really be the right place to look."
Researchers obtained nasal swabs from 35 adults with COVID-19 between April to September 2020, ranging from mildly symptomatic to critically ill.
They also obtained swabs from 17 control subjects and six patients who were intubated due to other illnesses. None of these subjects tested positive for COVID-19.
To get a detailed picture of what happens in the nasopharynx, researchers sequenced the Ribonucleic acid (RNA) in each cell from each sample, collecting an average of 562 cells per patient.
The RNA data allowed researchers to pinpoint which cells were present in the body, which contained RNA originating from the virus as an indication of infection, and which genes the cells were turning on and off in response.
Although the study’s sample size is limited, the data shows that the epithelial cells lining the nose and throat undergo major changes in the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
In people with mild or moderate COVID-19, epithelial cells showed increased activation of genes involved with antiviral responses, particularly those stimulated by type one interferon, which acts as an alarm to the body’s broader immune system.
But, in patients who developed severe COVID-19, antiviral responses were noticeably blunted. Most importantly, their epithelial cells had a “muted response” to interferon.
At the same time, their swabs had increased numbers of other immune cells that boost inflammatory responses.
In other words, their body’s early warning system wasn’t as sharp.
"Everyone with severe COVID-19 had a blunted interferon response early on in their epithelial cells, and were never able to ramp up a defence," said Ordovas-Montanes.
"Having the right amount of interferon at the right time could be at the crux of dealing with SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses."
Next, the researchers plan to investigate what is causing the muted interferon response in the nose and throat.
Although the results are preliminary, researchers say there may be a possibility of strengthening the interferon response in people with early COVID-19 infections, perhaps with a nasal spray or drops.
"It's likely that, regardless of the reason, people with a muted interferon response will be susceptible to future infections beyond COVID-19," Ordovas-Montanes said. "The question is, 'How do you make these cells more responsive?'"
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.