OfLaura Cuppini
Mip-C is similar to another autoimmune disease, anti-Mda5-positive dermatomyositis, but differs in rate of progression and mortality. This new disease would also have spread outside the United Kingdom, but there is no data yet. According to a new study, Sars-CoV-2 infection could be the trigger
Mda5 autoimmunity and interstitial pneumonia contemporary to the Covid-19 pandemic (Mip-C): is the title of a study published in the journal eBioMedicine (from the «Lancet» group), which takes stock of a «new» disease that can develop in people infected with the Sars-CoV-2 virus.
Positive anti-Mda5 dermatomyositis
The discovery is by a team of international researchers led by the University of California and the Department of Rheumatology of the University of Leeds. Out of 60 cases taken into consideration in the research, 8 deaths were recorded: mortality is therefore 13%. Mip-C is similar to another autoimmune disease, anti-Mda5 positive dermatomyositis, which can cause rapidly progressive and potentially fatal interstitial pneumonia. This rare pathology is caused by antibodies that attack the Mda5 enzyme, in turn capable of detecting Sars-CoV-2. In Great Britain, an increase in cases of anti-Mda5 positive dermatomyositis has been observed in recent years and researchers have linked the phenomenon to the pandemic. In fact, the authors of the study believe that having contracted Covid, even in a mild form, is a risk factor for the appearance of Mip-C. Anti-Mda5 dermatomyositis has been known for some time, while Mip-C, according to researchers, differs in its rate of progression and mortality. This new disease would also have spread outside the United Kingdom, but there is no data yet.
Long Covid and autoimmunity
The symptoms of Mip-C are muscle inflammation, skin rashes, vasospasm of the hand (known as Raynaud’s phenomenon), up to a very serious inflammation of the lungs. «This disease reiterates the multiformity of the virus and its effects, which can affect different organs – he explains to theAdnkronos Health Fabrizio Pregliasco, virologist at the State University of Milan -. The autoimmunity that it can trigger is another of the many problems of that condition – to date not yet well defined – that we call Long Covid. Problems such as those associated with Mip-C, including dermatological ones, have been reported in various forms even during the acute phase of the Covid emergency, in particular with the Wuhan virus, the ancestral strain”. Therefore, according to Pregliasco, the discovery of Mip-C «is not surprising and confirms once again the ability of Sars-CoV-2 to interact with different components of various biological processesin this case with the Mda5 enzyme.”
Sars-CoV-2 “trigger” trigger
«Mip-C is a distinctive form of dermatomyositis, an autoimmune disease in which the body develops antibodies towards structures of the body itself, from muscles to skin – he clarifies Massimo Andreoni, scientific director of Simit, the Italian Society of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, and full professor at the Tor Vergata University of Rome -. This international study tells us that Sars-CoV-2 infection is the trigger. Dermatomyositis is a serious disease, even lethal in some cases. This and other studies are shining a light on how Sars-CoV-2 can trigger autoimmune diseases: Mip-C will not be the only one.” The line of studies that is examining this condition «is very interesting – continues Andreoni -, because after four years of work on Sars-CoV-2, they are discovering new links with several autoimmune diseases. It was hypothesized that the cause of dermatomyositis could be a virus and today we know that Covid most likely plays a role. Many discoveries come precisely because we are studying this respiratory virus in great depth, therefore – he concludes – in the near future we will find other diseases linked to this infection».
Bassetti: «I have never seen a case»
«We don’t have to worry about Mip-C – he underlines Matteo Bassetti, director of the Infectious Diseases Unit at the San Martino Polyclinic in Genoa -: it’s the first time I’ve heard about it in four years of Covid. These are affected jobs carried out during the pandemic, but I have never seen a case since I have been doing this job. Surely Sars-CoV-2 may have exacerbated some diseasesmay have “turned on” some already known autoimmune lung diseases, but – he concludes – I don’t think that Mip-C represents a big problem”.
May 16, 2024 (modified May 16, 2024 | 10:27)
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