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United States Why Do Children Handle COVID-19 Better Than Old People? The Answer May Lie in Their Noses | Weather.com
School students without wearing masks walk past a COVID-19 mural at Korukkupet in Chennai.
(B A Raju/TOI, BCCL, Chennai)When the COVID-19 pandemic set out on a worldwide rampage in late 2019, it did not care for who it affected. However, even through its apparent indiscriminate spread, the virus displayed clear favourites for torture candidates: the elderly.
Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed that over 80% of the total COVID-19-related between 2020 and 2021 occurred in senile populations aged 60 years or older. Since then, a flurry of studies have consistently shown that people above 65 are at higher risk of developing serious symptoms of the viral infection — and now we might finally know why.
To understand how the coronavirus plans its assault on our bodies, a study delved into the part of our bodies that encounters the virus first: our noses. More specifically, researchers wanted to examine how our nasal cells respond to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which they hoped could offer crucial insights into potential treatment strategies tailored to different age groups.
The research focused on the early effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on human nasal epithelial cells (NECs). We have an abundance of epithelial cells covering the inside and outside of our bodies, which are instrumental in carrying out key bodily functions and protecting us. The team cultured NECs to mimic the cellular environment of the nasal cavity and infected them with SARS-CoV-2.
By analysing cells donated by participants spanning various age groups, including children (0-11 years), adults (30-50 years), and the elderly (over 70 years), the study discovered that there were distinct age-related responses to the coronavirus. The team found that children's NECs responded swiftly to SARS-CoV-2 by ramping up the production of interferons, key components of the body's antiviral defence system, which effectively restricted viral replication.
In contrast, NECs from elderly individuals exhibited increased viral replication, accompanied by heightened cell shedding and damage. This could be why the elderly are at greater risk of severe COVID-19 than other groups, even with the advent of vaccinations.
“Our research reveals how the type of cells we have in our nose changes with age, and how this affects our ability to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection,” explains lead author Claire Smith. “This could be crucial in developing effective anti-viral treatments tailored to different age groups, especially for the elderly who are at higher risk of severe COVID-19.”
By properly understanding the age-specific differences in nasal cell response to SARS-CoV-2, researchers can develop targeted antiviral therapies that enhance interferon production in older adults. This could potentially mitigate the severity of COVID-19 and reduce mortality rates in this demographic.
Moreover, the study underscores the importance of considering age as a critical factor in research and treatment strategies for infectious diseases. Beyond COVID-19, future research should explore how aging impacts the body's response to other viral infections, informing preventive measures and therapeutic interventions across diverse age groups.
The findings of this research have been published in Nature Microbiology and can be accessed here.
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