Severely ill Patient Study

STUDY HYPOTHESIS AND DESCRIPTION

The hypothesis of the study was that molecular differences would show the strongest signal in severe cases of the illness when compared to healthy controls.

STUDY DESIGN

Using samples of saliva, blood, urine and feces, this big data study examines the following:

• Genome
• Gene expression on individual immune cell types
• Metabolomics
• Microbiome
• Cell-free DNA sequencing and quantitation
• Cytokines
• Clinical tests

The value of a study of this magnitude is that it provides a foundation of invaluable information to generate hypotheses and to develop diagnostics and treatments. Further, all samples from one patient are taken at one point in time, enabling all measurements to reflect exactly what was happening in the body at that one time point. This allows the possibility for the discovery of biomarkers involving the relationships between different body systems that would not ordinarily be found.