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Australian researchers have identified many specific proteins in the blood of children with severe forms of Covid-19. This discovery could improve diagnosis and lead to the development of a treatment for a disease that has worried doctors for two years.
Rare severe forms in children
Children have been proven to be less susceptible to Covid-19 and often contract mild symptoms. But some have developed serious forms, which are manifested by respiratory distress and a multisystem inflammatory syndrome.
Children with Covid-19 who develop multisystem inflammatory syndrome often suffer from fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, rash, heart disease or conjunctivitis. In acute respiratory distress syndrome, organ damage may occur due to lack of oxygen in the blood.
Researchers from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute from Melbourne (Australia) sought to understand why some children were more likely to develop severe forms.
At the origin of severe forms: 85 specific proteins
blood samples were collected from 33 children with either multisystem inflammatory syndrome or acute respiratory distress syndrome after contracting Covid-19. These samples were compared with those of 20 healthy children.
These syndromes are so rare in Australia that researchers received blood samples taken from children infected with Covid-19 and treated at the Paris Necker University Hospital.
The goal? To examine all the proteins present in the children’s blood in order to understand why some contracted serious forms. This practice is known as proteomics.
The researchers discovered that children affected by these syndromes contained specific proteins in their blood that were not found in healthy children. In total: 85 proteins specific to multisystem inflammatory syndrome and 52 correlated to acute respiratory distress syndrome.
“Our research was the first to uncover that specific blood clotting pathways and immune proteins were impacted in children with COVID-19 who developed severe symptoms.“said the researchers.
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Towards new treatments
The identification of these specific proteins could improve the understanding of the mechanisms involved in these severe pediatric forms, which will also make it possible to develop diagnostic tests making it possible to identify children at risk and tomorrow therapeutic targets to better treat these serious cases.
“Knowing the mechanisms associated with severe COVID-19 in children and how children’s blood clotting and immune systems respond to the virus will help diagnose and detect acute cases of COVID-19 and allow us to develop targeted therapy.”said Vera Ignjatovic, lead author of the study.
Currently, the medical care is done in pediatric departments: it is multidisciplinary and involves emergency physicians, pediatricians: resuscitators, cardiologists, infectiologists and rheumatologists. Other pediatric specialists may be involved depending on the clinical presentation. The treatment can include and combine, depending on the severity of the patient’s clinical condition: corticosteroid therapy, immunoglobulins, anti-aggregants, anticoagulants, antibiotics or even biotherapies. Corticosteroid therapy is recommended in all cases.