London, April 11 (TIWN) In probably the first study to link smoking with severe COVID-19 risk, a team of researchers now claim that people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and people who currently smoke have higher level of an enzyme that is the ‘entry point for new coronavirus in lungs.

In the same journal, a study has identified advanced age, underlying cardiovascular or cerebrovascular illnesses, low levels of CD3+CD8+ T cells (indicating damaged immune response), and high levels of cardiac troponin (indicating heart damage) as predictors of death in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.  Other research in the same journal found that temperature, humidity, and ultraviolet (UV) radiation had no effect on the spread of the novel coronavirus in Chinese cities.  Elevated enzyme levels put smokers, those with COPD at high risk In the first known study on this topic, Canadian researchers sought to determine whether patients who smoked or had COPD had higher levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in their lower respiratory tract. People older than 55 years with significant underlying illnesses such as COPD have accounted for most cases of severe COVID-19, they noted.  Previous research has shown that ACE2 on the surface of lung cells is the doorway that allows viruses into the lungs, where they cause infection.  For the present study, the team analyzed lung samples from 21 adults with COPD and 21 healthy adults. COPD was defined as a clinical diagnosis by a board-certified respiratory physician and either a forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) less than 70% or computed tomographic evidence of emphysema.