Some researchers are suggesting that influenza gets worse in patients with higher glucose levels (eg diabetics)
If this translates to the COVID-19 infection scenario then maybe reduction of blood glucose levels could be beneficial during hospitalisation.
What is the first thing they do in hospitals? They put you on a salt and glucose drip - but maybe that is the wrong thing to do?
There is an old saying: "Feed a cold but starve a fever"
Maybe this applies to COVID infections too.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-04- ... evere.html
As the global pandemic has unfolded, medical workers and researchers have noted that patients who have diabetes tend to have worse outcomes than people with no underlying health issues—the same has been found to be true for patients with influenza infections. In this new effort, the researchers sought to better understand why such patients are more susceptible to an inflammatory response that can lead to pneumonia and death.
Prior research has shown that when the influenza virus (or the SARS-CoV-2 virus) makes its way into the human body, the immune system responds by sending immune cells to the site to combat the threat. Cytokines are produced as part of the response. Their job is to handle cell-to-cell communications. In some people, though, the body produces too many cytokines, resulting in a cytokine storm, which can lead to very serious problems such as pneumonia or organ failure.
Anything that contributes to our understanding of this disease and it's progress may help us stay alive.They found that those patients with higher glucose levels were more likely to undergo a cytokine storm. They suggest their findings explain why patients with diabetes are more likely to experience cytokine storms and to have worse outcomes with flu (and possibly COVID-19) infections.
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