© 2024
Virginia's Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Exercise May Protect Against COVID-19 Damage

UVA

Since the arrival of COVID-19, experts have advised us to stay away from others and wash our hands frequently, but there’s something else we could do to reduce the risk of death from the virus.  

A scientist at the University of Virginia says exercise might provide life-saving protection.

Zhen Yan trained as a surgeon, but while practicing medicine in China he got interested in the benefits of exercise and decided to devote his life to that subject.  Thirty years ago he came to the U.S. to do research, and today he has proof of how regular aerobic activity could protect people from one dangerous complication of the new coronavirus.

“One of the complications of COVID-19 is this condition called ARDS – acute respiratory distress syndrome, which causes uncontrolled inflammation in the lungs,” he explains.

The CDC says up to 85% of COVID patients in intensive care have or will develop this deadly condition.  As it happens, Yan has been studying ARDS in his laboratory – breeding mice that produced large amounts of an anti-oxidant called EcSOD that binds to cells in our lungs and other organs.

“Genetic engineered mice produce much more EcSOD in skeletal muscle to get to the lungs, and these animals are resistant to the condition of ARDS,” he says.

In humans, Yan reports, EcSOD is produced every time we exercise. He thinks gene therapy could someday be used to treat people with acute respiratory distress syndrome, but for now he prescribes 30 minutes of aerobic exercise 3-4 times a week.   

***Editor's Note: The University of Virginia is a financial supporter of Radio IQ.

Sandy Hausman is Radio IQ's Charlottesville Bureau Chief