Researchers at Lawson Health Research Institute, Western University, and the University of Alberta have reported that COVID-19 affects the human body's blood concentration levels of specific metabolites. There are three metabolites identified in this study which could act as biomarkers and potentially be measured through an inexpensive blood test. The team also suspects those metabolites depleted by the virus could be delivered to patients as dietary supplements. Their research is published in Critical Care Explorations.
"As the second wave progresses and COVID-19 cases rise, there is an overwhelming demand for testing," says Dr. Douglas Fraser, lead researcher from Lawson and Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, and Critical Care Physician at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC). "While our findings need to be confirmed in a larger group of patients, they could lead to a rapid, cost-effective screening tool as a first line of testing in the community and in-hospital."
"Metabolites are the final breakdown products in the human body and play key roles in cellular activity and physiology. By studying them, we can understand chemical processes that are occurring at any given moment, including those that regulate biological functions related to health and disease," explains Dr. David Wishart, Codirector of TMIC and Professor of Biological Sciences, Computing Science and Laboratory Medicine & Pathology at the University of Alberta. "Because the human metabolome responds very quickly to environmental factors like pathogens, metabolomics can play an important role in early-stage disease detection, including for COVID-19."