A team from the Hospital de Valdecilla and the health research institute of this center, Idival, has demonstrated the involvement of a molecule in the most frequent symptoms of covid: headache and diarrhea.
Specifically, it is a peptide, that is, a molecule formed by the covalent union of two or more amino acids, which is known as CGRP.
Possible treatments?
The discovery of this peptide will allow the development of possible treatments in the future, because until now it was unknown what caused headaches and diarrhea in covid patients.
The Government of Cantabria has explained in a press release that this discovery has been made by the research team of the headache clinic and genetics group of the Marqués de Valdecilla Health Research Institute (Idival).
Professionals from the Internal Medicine, Infectious and Digestive Medicine services of the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital have also worked together in the study.
The study by this team indicates that CGRP levels are higher in patients with covid-19 than in healthy people.
In addition, it has been discovered that in the patients with headache or migraine that have been analyzed, the levels of a specific type of this molecule, the alpha isoform, are also elevated.
Research has also led to the discovery that the presence of diarrhea in covid-19 patients corresponds to elevated levels of the beta isoform of CGRP.