A group of researchers found 13 genetic areas of interest may narrow down the search for drugs to treat COVID-19, The New York Times reported.
The researchers found the genetic areas of interest when they looked at the genomes of nearly 50,000 people in 19 countries who were infected with COVID-19.
The authors suggest in the study, published July 8 in Nature, that a drug for another disease that affects a specific gene variation that also occurs in COVID-19 patients might be effective for the COVID-19 patients.
The researchers studied people who were hospitalized with severe COVID-19, people whose EHR showed they had a positive test and people who self-reported that they had COVID-19, the Times reported.
The most promising genetic variations include those in a gene that has been previously found to be a risk factor for lung cancer, the researchers said. The variations are associated with more severe COVID-19 disease.
The study's authors said that future work will be required to better understand the clinical value of the findings, but the study may help scientists narrow drugs that will be effective in treating COVID-19.
Read the full study here.