Tonka
Well-known member
http://noticiasdelaciencia.com/not/...dor_mas_vulnerable_al_virus_h1n1_de_la_gripe/
Spanish-English translation
A gene that makes the wearer more vulnerable to H1N1 influenza
A genetic variant that explains why vulnerability to H1N1 influenza or influenza may be higher in Chinese populations has been found by researchers at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom and the Capital Medical University in Beijing, China.
This finding may help identify people who are at increased risk of developing a serious infection and give priority to those most in need receive treatment.
The study by the team of Dr. Tao Dong, University of Oxford, shows that people who have a certain gene variant are six times more likely to have severe flu infection than those who do not.
The variant in question, rs12252-C, is present occasionally in Caucasian populations, and was known to be associated with a more severe influenza infection. However, the research teams in the UK and China have shown that this variant was present in 69 percent of Chinese patients severely affected by influenza in 2009, and only 25 percent of those who suffered a version mild infection.
As Dr. Dong argues, find out why some people may be more affected than others in the same strain of flu is crucial to improve the capacity of health authorities to tackle epidemics of influenza and to implement preventive measures to try to prevent people dying from this virus.
It is believed that the change in DNA studied increases the risk of severe infection by limiting the effectiveness of a protein that helps defend the body against flu and similar viruses. Previously it was shown that this protein, called IFITM3, slows virus replication in mice.
Spanish-English translation
A gene that makes the wearer more vulnerable to H1N1 influenza
A genetic variant that explains why vulnerability to H1N1 influenza or influenza may be higher in Chinese populations has been found by researchers at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom and the Capital Medical University in Beijing, China.
This finding may help identify people who are at increased risk of developing a serious infection and give priority to those most in need receive treatment.
The study by the team of Dr. Tao Dong, University of Oxford, shows that people who have a certain gene variant are six times more likely to have severe flu infection than those who do not.
The variant in question, rs12252-C, is present occasionally in Caucasian populations, and was known to be associated with a more severe influenza infection. However, the research teams in the UK and China have shown that this variant was present in 69 percent of Chinese patients severely affected by influenza in 2009, and only 25 percent of those who suffered a version mild infection.
As Dr. Dong argues, find out why some people may be more affected than others in the same strain of flu is crucial to improve the capacity of health authorities to tackle epidemics of influenza and to implement preventive measures to try to prevent people dying from this virus.
It is believed that the change in DNA studied increases the risk of severe infection by limiting the effectiveness of a protein that helps defend the body against flu and similar viruses. Previously it was shown that this protein, called IFITM3, slows virus replication in mice.