Blood-based test could predict disease progression in COVID-19

New research presented today at the European Cardiomyocyte-Enlargement and Hypertrophy Society Conference in Dublin identifies two biomarkers that may differentiate patients at risk of developing glomerulonephritis (GO) and type 1 diabetes (T1D). NEI researchers have developed a blood-based test to help predict progression of these two conditions.

Dr. Connor Clarke of Mayo Clinic in Ireland a scientific lead on the study said: We then found that the test accurately predicted progression of both the most severely impacted individuals with vasculitis (the most common cause of group A vasculopathy) and the least affected with type 1 diabetes. The results demonstrate that biomarkers of both GO and T1D with detectable levels of neuropeptide Y (NPY) were substantially more predictive of disease progression than the commonly used continuous electrocardiographic monitoring (ECM) approach. Additionally both NPY levels and heart rate variability were highly predictive of disease progression. Our findings confirm the key role of NPY levels in several important cardiovascular outcomes such as progression of myocardial infarction myocardial injury myocardial ischemia and heart failure he added.

The study involved patients who received either the blood test and ECM as compared with either a placebo or a reduction in baseline measurement. Patients who had 1-minute bouts of vigorous physical activity (2 hoursday) had significantly greater reduction in their NPY levels following the ECM on average than did the control group. None of the participants exercised prior to enrolment.

Significant titration of blood NPY levels was observed by both groups after 12 months of treatment with a peak peak in the seventh month following treatment. But the mean values subsequently declined and by the end of the 12-month treatment period there was no indication that progression was progressing or getting worse.

This provides a first in-depth clinical assessment of patient progress against a single disease marker as well as an initial blood-based result demonstrating a blood-based measure of disease progression. The impact of this work is to help clinicians who treat GLP-1 diabetes patients decide which patients to send for further testing and which to continue cardiovascular disease monitoring Dr. Clarke noted.

The research has been funded by Naisa Seleem Dr. Clarke and Mayo Clinic FINRES.