Any person who wishes to get a COVID-19 test kit is certainly facing any of the three symptoms: loss of taste or smell, ongoing cough, and high temperature. The virus has given rise to these common respiratory health symptoms. The respiratory system is the point of entry for the SARS-CoV-2. However, today ongoing research suggests that our GI tract (Gastrointestinal Tract) is another alternative for infection. It means that the GI symptoms after getting affected by the virus, which was earlier considered “non-specific,” has an essential role to play in determining the best treatment plan for the patients.
Taking a look at the COVID-19 GI symptoms that otherwise got overlooked
The early phases of the pandemic had thrown light on the GI symptoms. The researchers who studied the patients that got admitted to the General Hospital of Crema, Italy, by getting infected by the virus had shown GI symptoms. That includes 10% of the patients. Doctors thought this wasn’t a small amount and noted that several patients with GI symptoms were without the primary respiratory symptom, that is, the extreme dry cough.
Similar outcomes were published from multiple Chinese studies conducted in the initial days of the pandemic. According to one such study done on 74 patients found that almost 28% of them suffered from GI symptoms. On the other hand, another study that got made on 95 patients highlighted that 61% showed GI symptoms. Additionally, the Mao Et Al had published a review that comprised of 35 studies done on 6,686 patients, where close to 6,6064 patients had shown GI symptoms. Close to 10% of the patients didn’t have any respiratory symptoms.
The finding urged the researchers to arrive at an explanation. Hence, they realized that the human GI tract is an alternative channel for the virus to enter owing to the ACE2 receptor, that is the common channel through which the SARS-CoV-2 affects the lung. It also gets highly expressed in various other human tissues comprising the GI tract. It means it is possible for people to contract the virus via the GI tract. Also, new studies have found out that the fecal oral channel is also another way for the virus to spread.
The solution to treat this is in spirulina-based drugs
Considering that the GI pool of the virus comes with essential clinical consequences, not just for the progression of the disease but also for transmitting the virus between various people. Hence, doctors and medical practitioners should make it a mandate to treat any GI-related problem, which is an essential component for managing the side effects of the pandemic. It is exactly what most medical professionals are aiming to do. They are suggesting an edible spirulina-oriented antibody drug that will address the GI components of the deadly virus.
It dates back to 2017 when Lumen came up with the technology for changing an algae spirulina to a therapeutic protein that can treat this ailment. The technology involved here can engineer and work with the Spirulina in a way that it can come up with a therapeutic protein, usually an antibody which can accumulate within the cell membrane as it develops and grows.
Simply put, Spirulina is an effective solution for generating antibody-based drugs at a certain scale since it only needs sunlight, saltwater, and a very little fraction of the carbon dioxide to grow. Also, this algae-based product doesn’t need any kind of purification since it is a food. It indicates that the manufacturing cost of the antibody in terms of per gramme can be around $200 per gramme to pennies every gramme, especially at a large scale.
Additionally, Spirulina is especially suitable for therapeutic purposes and can clean up the GI tract. The moment the Spirulina grows, it gets spray-dried to a fine powder that people can consume. Right now, the spirulina cells aren’t any more alive. However, the cell membranes secure the beneficial proteins as they move up the stomach, discharging the antibody payload in a person’s intestines. Having said that, it is necessary to obtain the correct Spirulina-based drug from your doctor and use it under guidance to attain the best outcomes.
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