“After the COVID-19 pandemic, our lives are finally ‘normal’ again but let’s not forget that the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented. Despite these devastating consequences, cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains one of the leading causes of death and the long-term impact of COVID-19 on CVDs is unknown", says Prof. Carina Mels, Principal Investigator of the Prospective Effect of COVID-19 on Early cardiovascular disease Development in Africans (PRECEED-Africa) study. According to Prof. Mels, some studies have shown that even in young healthy adults, rampant vascular effects as demonstrated by worse endothelial function and higher arterial stiffness was noted in SARS-CoV-2 infected vs uninfected control weeks after contracting the virus.
The PRECEED-Africa study is grounded in the fact that early detection of future CVD risk remains key to enable timely intervention. The PRECEED-Africa study is nested in the ongoing longitudinal African-PREDICT study aimed to identify early indicators for the development of hypertension and cardiovascular outcomes. The central aim of the PRECEED-Africa study is to investigate whether SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with pathophysiological changes in the cardiovascular and biomarker profiles of young apparently healthy black and white adults.
With an extensive background in Biochemistry, Prof. Mels explains that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus contains four structural proteins, i.e., Spike (S), Nucleocapsid ( N ), Membrane (M), and Envelope (E). "S, M, and E proteins are involved in the formation of the viral coat, while the N protein is involved in the packaging of the RNA genome. After coronavirus infection, the body’s immune system can produce immunoglobulin M (IgM), immunoglobulin G (IgG), and immunoglobulin A (IgA), in response to a virus. With blood-based serology testing using multiplex analysis individuals who may have generated some level of immune response due to SARS-CoV-2 infection can be identified.
“It is expected that we will be able to report preliminary findings early in 2023,” said Prof. Mels. In the meantime, keep a look out for more information regarding the PRECEED-Africa study on all of HART's social media platforms!
Principal Investigator: Prof Carina Mels
