[Image by Kai-Chun Lin]
Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas have developed a sweat sensor that could detect cytokine storms in patients suspected of having COVID-19 and other illnesses.Early on in the pandemic, doctors found that patients who developed a surge of pro-inflammatory immune proteins, called “cytokine storms,” were more often the sickest and at the highest risk of dying from COVID-19. According to the researchers, cytokine storms can occur in other illnesses as well, like influenza. Scientists on the study developed a sweat sensor that could act as an early warning system for an impending cytokine storm to help doctors more effectively treat patients.
“Especially now in the context of COVID-19, if you could monitor pro-inflammatory cytokines and see them trending upwards, you could treat patients early, even before they develop symptoms,” Shalini Prasad, …