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Latest Prevention & Wellness News<\/h3>\n
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TUESDAY, Oct. 27, 2020 (HealthDay News)<\/p>\n
Factors such as sex, age and severity of the disease may help identify COVID-19<\/a> survivors who have high levels of antibodies that can protect against the disease, a new study suggests.<\/p>\n “These were significant patient characteristics that not only predicted the amount of antibody but the quality of that antibody,” said lead author Sabra Klein, a professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.<\/p>\n Specifically, older men who have recovered after a hospital stay for COVID-19<\/a> may be good candidates for donating plasma for treating other infected patients, the study suggests.<\/p>\n Plasma trials are continuing, but doctors are unsure how to select COVID-19<\/a> survivors who are most likely to have strong antibody responses.<\/p>\n For the study, researchers tested the blood of 126 COVID-19<\/a> survivors and found many differences in their antibody levels and their antibodies’ ability to neutralize SARS<\/a>-CoV-2. Factors linked with stronger antibody responses included being sick enough to be hospitalized, being older and being male.<\/p>\n “We know that the magnitude of antibody responses correlates with disease severity in other infectious diseases, such as active tuberculosis<\/a>,” Klein said in a Hopkins news release.<\/p>\n The findings were recently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation<\/i>.<\/p>\n — Steven Reinberg<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div>\n![\"MedicalNews\"](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/HealthDay\/healthday.png\")
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