The scientific Work of the Coronavirus run on high tours. Within a few months is virtually created out of Nothing, a huge branch of research that is driven with a lot of money.
Scientists around the globe want to understand the pathogen, are looking feverishly for drugs and a vaccine. However, as a result, other pressing problems in medicine – such as high blood pressure, Diabetes, and cancer may fall out of focus, experts warn.
Matthias Tschöp, scientific Director of the Helmholtz centre in Munich, which also contributes to the research on Sars-CoV-2, voice already at the beginning of may, that well-known challenges for many billions of people life-threatening or quality of life significantly affect, should not be lost sight of.
Basic research is of great importance
“The active global cooperation to find solutions from the Covid-19-crisis, is important and gives cause for hope. It would be risky, however, decades of intensive basic research as well as translational and clinical research on the major diseases that afflict people now-a-break, and jeopardizing its success,” says Tschöp.
He speaks in particular to the fight against chronic diseases such as Diabetes and cancer are worldwide main causes of death, disability and loss of quality of life. More than 400 million people today are suffering from type 2 Diabetes.
Related cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death in Western societies, according to the Helmholtz centre. Up to the year 2040, the number of new cancer going diseases a year from the current 18 million to 30 million are on the rise.
“What relates to the General research, the present Situation has, of course, have a significant impact,” says a spokesman for the Max Planck society (MPG). “All of our institutions are instructed to let your employees, wherever possible, in the Home Office work.” Research projects with human subjects took place last even.
Clinical studies interrupted
“It will certainly proceed to take weeks and months, the research back to the pre-Corona weddings,” says the MPG-speaker. To may, it was therefore not possible to work experimentally in the laboratory.
Since then, will endanger thinking, “how the research enterprise can be dangers to the institutions, slowly back up” – without the health of the employees.
Human clinical trials were in almost all Federal States for a week almost on ice. In some States, you are already started, others are about to follow, says the Vice-President of the German research society (DFG), Britta Siegmund. However, it was “always a risk-Benefit assessment”.
Photo gallery: 10 tips to protect yourself against viruses and bacteria
Patients who were already included prior to the Corona-pandemic studies, were consistently remained in the studies and were further treated. “But de facto not-were included in time no new patients in Covid-associated studies,” says Siegmund.
There are several reasons: Because the logistics of Europe did not work could study medications and supplies out. In addition, investigations should have been carried out in the hospital – which you tried to avoid as much as possible.
Study delays due to the corona crisis
Problems arise especially in the case of large studies, for the release of drugs is relevant, says Siegmund. “If these studies are now several months on hold, they will be completed later.” And of course, the entire development and approval process is delayed, then.
“I think personally, if you have to reduce the operation to 20 percent, then the resources must be distributed independently of the research question,” says the Chairman of the AG science of the Medical faculty of tags, Christopher tree.
It is not always predictable, what research questions are relevant
You could not decide which research question is socially relevant. “A Coronavirus researcher would have been considered a year ago as relatively unimportant,” says the tree. “And then it comes to an outbreak situation, and we are glad that we have basic researchers, working for years with the corona virus.”
That’s why there is a responsibility to get the research landscape in their diversity, equally and under these difficult conditions in the best possible way to develop, says the tree. “Diversity is a strength of the German research system. This is very important, that you have now no collateral damage and the question of the narrows.”
Source
- The Helmholtz Zentrum münchen (2020) :” The simultaneous combat of the COVID-19 pandemic and endemic disease: A balancing act for biomedical research”, retrieved on 04.06.2020 https://www.helmholtz-muenchen.de/aktuelles/uebersicht/pressemitteilungnews/article/48386/index.html
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa)
*The contribution of the “fight against Covid-19: research on other serious illnesses too short?” is published by FitForFun. Contact with the executives here.