Novel biomarker discovered to identify male COVID-19 patients at greatest risk for ICU admission
May 7 2021
Researchers have discovered a novel biomarker to identify male COVID-19 patients most at risk for ICU admission. The findings presented today at EADV’s 2021 Spring Symposium, suggest that men with genetic characteristics (phenotypes) sensitive to the male sex hormone androgen, are more likely to experience severe COVID-19 disease.
Researchers were driven to study the association between the androgen receptor (AR) gene and COVID-19, after observing the disproportionate number of men hospitalised with COVID-19 presenting with androgenetic alopecia (a common form of hair-loss) compared to the expected number in a similar age-matched population (79% vs. 31-53%).
Hair Loss Linked To Severity of COVID-19 in Men by Karishma Abhishek on May 7, 2021 at 11:55 PM Lugano, as presented at
The findings suggest that men with genetic characteristics (phenotypes) sensitive to the male sex hormone androgen, are more likely to experience severe COVID-19 disease.
As the disproportionate number of men who were hospitalized with COVID-19 presented with androgenetic alopecia (a common form of hair-loss) compared to the expected number in a similar age-matched population (79% vs. 31-53%), the team was set to explore the association between the androgen receptor (AR) gene and COVID-19.
‘Novel genetic biomarkers linked to hair loss may help determine COVID-19 severity in men. This provides key insights into the role of genetics and its link to COVID disease.
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Gene tied to balding may also raise COVID-19 risks for men
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COVID-19 patients receive free oxygen during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in Ghaziabad, India s Uttar Pradesh State on Saturday, May 1, 2021. Photo by Abhishek/UPI | License Photo
COVID-19 patients receive free oxygen, provided by a Gurudwara, A Sikh Temple, in Ghaziabad, India s Uttar Pradesh State on Saturday, May 1, 2021. Photo by Abhishek/UPI | License Photo
It s long been known that COVID-19 is more fatal for men than women, and new research links some of that excess risk to a gene known to cause a form of hair loss in males.
The study involved 65 men who had been hospitalized with COVID-19. The researchers looked at the length of the polyglutamine repeat (or CAG repeat) region in the AR gene, which is linked to male-pattern baldness, in the men.
They found that the men whose AR CAG repeat was shorter than 22 nucleotides, or DNA molecules, were much less likely to end up in intensive care with COVID-19 than those whose CAG count was 22 or higher.
“Our data show that longer AR CAG scores are associated with more severe COVID-19 disease and indicate that AR CAG repeat length could be used as a biomarker to help identify male COVID-19 patients most at risk for ICU admissions,” said Andy Goren, chief medical officer of Applied Biology Inc. in Irvine, California.