Four New COVID Facts

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is a definite puzzler, but months into the pandemic, the pieces are starting to come ever so slightly together leading to some potentially good news for treatment and prevention.

Starting at the top: Having studied nearly 3,000 patients in more than 200 intensive care units, a team of British scientists concluded that the reason some patients are mildly ill while others fight for their lives lies with five genes whose job it is to enable your body to handle immunity and inflammation. If these genes are doing what they’re supposed to you’re likely to escape unscathed. As Kenneth Baillie, one of the lead researchers on the project and academic consultant in critical care medicine at Edinburgh University, told the journal Nature, “Our results immediately highlight which drugs should be at the top of the list for clinical testing.”

Next: There’s a bullseye on your brain. Experts at NYU Langone Medical Center followed 606 COVID-19 adult patients to discover that one in seven people who get the virus will end up with neurological problems ranging from temporary confusion to seizures and stroke. The good news: The problem isn’t viruses invading the brain, it’s a secondary effect of oxygen deprivation and blood clots. “Our study results suggest that physicians need to be more aggressive in stabilizing body oxygen levels in patients with COVID-19 as a potentially key therapy for stopping, preventing and/or possibly reversing neurological problems,” says study senior investigator Steven L. Galetta.

Third: COVID hates Cupid. Office romances are the stuff of legend. Who doesn’t know that eight hours of daily interaction encourages closeness leading to ... whatever. Working from home, with one’s partner at the next desk or in the next room is a whole different story. So are office affairs dead? Not on your life. Canoodling behind the file cabinets may be out, but as Jeff Goldblum’s character in Jurassic Park told us, the good news is that “life finds a way.” In this case it’s switching locations. According to Caroline Madden, a California marriage and family therapist who specializes in infidelity recovery counseling (yes, there is such a thing), local hotels are open and so are supermarkets, giving spouses on the prowl excuses for why they’re out, you know, shopping, exercising, getting tested for COVID. And in emergencies, there’s email, which is why although physical affairs may be down, some observers say emotional ones are “in hyperdrive.” Until they’re not, at which point the better news for some couples in rocky marriages may be that being stuck together at home leads to reconsidering the relationship. One way or the other.

Finally: COVID is not fond of men. From the beginning, the virus has made more men than women really sick and sent more on to their eventual reward. It could be that more men smoke and drink or that a woman’s double XX’s provide a more robust immune system. In any event, the Cleveland clinic has identified another unpleasant viral attack on male survivors: erectile dysfunction (ED). Why? The possibilities include vascular problems that reduce blood flow to important body parts or anxiety related to the pandemic or declining overall health. The sort of good news is that Cleveland urologist Ryan Berglund says it’s too early to know whether the effect is temporary or permanent. The better news is that following safety guidelines and slowing the virus spread reduces the risk of catching the bug. And thus having a much better New Year.