- Study finds link between COVID vaccines and myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart, in young men
- Researchers believe that an overactive immune response to the COVID vaccines could be the culprit in the issue
- The study included 23 men aged 13 to 21 who experienced heart inflammation following the second dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines
A new study found a new lead in determining the link between myocarditis, heart inflammation in young men, and the COVID-19 vaccine.
The researchers believe that an overactive immune response to the mRNA COVID vaccines could be the primary reason for causing rare cases of myocarditis in young men after receiving the shot.
COVID Vaccine-Related Health Inflammation in Young Men
The small study, published on Friday in the journal Science Immunology, was based on 23 patients between the ages of 13 and 21. As per Yahoo News, these individuals developed myocarditis after receiving their second shot of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID vaccines.
The researchers analyzed the blood samples taken from the patients and found that nine of them, all of whom got the Pfizer vaccine, had higher-than-normal cytokine levels. These help the human body's immune response against pathogens, such as bacteria, viruses, and other invading microbes, as well as vaccines.
However, when they get at too high levels, they can trigger a rapid expansion of white blood cells that could cause inflammation. The researchers of the recent study observed that this could be why some young men are developing myocarditis or pericarditis, another type of heart inflammation, following a COVID vaccine shot.
In a statement, an associate professor of immunobiology at Yale University School of Medicine, Carrie Lucas, said the situation showed that the vaccine is a "double-edged sword." The study's author said vaccinated individuals mount a strong immune response but argued this could also cause a human body's cells to overreact and cause inflammation.
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Overactive Immune Response
Despite the finding, the risk of developing COVID vaccine-related myocarditis is extremely low, as experts have found that it affects fewer than 20 people per 1,000,000 vaccinations. According to USA Today, the researchers also noted that their sample size in the study was small, primarily due to the scarcity of the condition.
Lucas said that they were motivated to understand the condition to make it even rare in the future. Experts argue that the study's findings could also help future research determine the people susceptible to developing the condition.
One of the study's authors, Akiko Iwasaki, added that the team was somewhat relieved after learning about the condition. He noted that if the cases resulted from an autoimmune response, they would be more difficult to treat.
Health experts now prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs and steroids to patients suffering from myocarditis. If an autoimmune response were responsible for the condition, victims would have to be given higher doses of steroids or take them longer, which Iwasaki argued would risk more side effects, said State News.
