In people with low leptin levels, such as those with protein energy malnutrition, the immune system produces more anti-inflammatory cytokines and fewer inflammatory ones. This shift in the immune response in favour of an anti-inflammatory profile would, in theory, counteract the dire consequences of the hyper-inflammatory response often seen in severe COVID-19 cases, where the patient’s organs can be damaged.
AuthorBurtram C. Fielding
Professor and Director: Research Development, University of the Western Cape.
Prof Fielding is a molecular biologist working mainly on coronaviruses since 2003. Currently, he is employed as UWC Professor and Director: Research Development. He has worked as a Research Fellow in the Collaborative Antiviral Research Group at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Singapore (2003-2006). In Singapore he studied the coronavirus (SARS-CoV) responsible for the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.