Advertisement
Coronavirus: genetic mutation linked to schizophrenia may cause less severe Covid-19 symptoms
- The rs4702 gene may let coronavirus replicate more rapidly, especially in the brain; a mutation in that gene may limit the illness but lead to schizophrenia
- It may be good news for individuals but not the pandemic, with low levels of virus able to spread without being detected by the immune system
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
People with a unique genetic mutation may have less severe Covid-19 symptoms, according to a research team in New York.
Advertisement
But they could also have a higher risk of schizophrenia.
The rs4702 gene allows the coronavirus to replicate more rapidly in the human body, especially in the brain, their experiment suggests.
A mutation of the gene could suppress the reproduction of the virus, the researchers found, but people carrying this mutation tended to have problems with their neurons that were linked to schizophrenia and other mental disorders, according to some previous studies.
The new discovery added to mounting evidence that “common genetic variation can impact viral infection”, the research team led by Dr Kristen Brennand, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, said in a non-peer-reviewed paper posted on bioRxiv.org on Monday.
The severity of the Covid-19 disease varied from one person to another, even within the same age group. Some young and healthy patients died while others remained free of symptoms.
Advertisement