Read on Twitter
Possible explanation? Nicotine lowers ACE2 expression. (SARS-CoV-2 uses ACE2 for entry into target cells.)
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6295500/">https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/artic...
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6295500/">https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/artic...
One major New York hospital system that has released its data has a lot more smoking than the CDC data, but notably they have the odds ratio for tobacco use at less than 1. https://twitter.com/leorahorwitzmd/status/1249319859378405377">https://twitter.com/leorahorw...
Contra the theory above, a study from China finds higher ACE2 expression in smokers. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.18.20038455v1">https://www.medrxiv.org/content/1...
Question for the biochemists... *if* (big if!) there is a nicotine protective effect, is there an analog or derivative that could produce the same effect without the harms of nicotine?
Another more complex theory of the potential mechanism, this one more consistent with the recent study in China. https://twitter.com/TrevorSutcliffe/status/1249767401899454470">https://twitter.com/TrevorSut...
Several respondents have pointed me to this paper coauthored by Dr. Raymond Niaura, Interim Chair of the Department of Epidemiology at NYU.
https://www.qeios.com/read/article/561">https://www.qeios.com/read/arti...
https://www.qeios.com/read/article/561">https://www.qeios.com/read/arti...
Should note this disclaimer on the U.S. data from CDC. Let& #39;s see what the next update looks like.
