Skip to main content

Main menu

  • About Us
    • Leadership
    • Our Team
    • Vision, Mission and Values
    • Health and Economic Impact
    • Research Impact Video
    • Strategic Plan
  • Our Research
    • Research Focus
      • Brain Health
      • Cancer
      • Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence
      • Heart Health
      • Healthy Aging and Mobility
      • Immune System
      • Injury and Rehabilitation
      • Lung Health
      • Mental Health and Substance Use
    • Research Centres and Programs
      • BC Centre on Substance Use
      • Centre for Aging SMART
      • Centre for Cardiovascular Innovation
      • Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation
      • Centre for Lung Health
      • Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health
      • Immunity and Infection Research Centre
      • International Collaboration On Repair Discoveries
      • M. H. Mohseni Institute of Urologic Sciences
      • Ovarian Cancer Research Centre
      • Community Research Program
      • Emergency Medicine Research Program
      • Hematology Research Program
      • Skin Research Program
      • Other Research Focus Areas
    • News and Stories
    • Researcher Directory
    • Events and Workshops
  • Research Services
    • New to VCHRI
      • Working at VCHRI
      • Regulations and Training
      • Membership with VCHRI
      • Learning and Development
    • Starting Your Project
      • Research Facilitation
      • Awards and Funding
      • Grant Management
      • Operational Approval
      • CST Cerner
    • Developing Your Project
      • Clinical Trials Administration
      • Clinical Research Unit
      • Research Privacy
      • Financial Policies and Procedures
    • Additional Support
      • Indigenous Health Research Unit
      • VCH-VCHRI AI Hub
      • Communications and Media Relations
      • Study Recruitment Support
      • Innovation and Industry Partnership
    • Internal Awards
    • Clinical Research
    • Indigenous Research
  • Participate in Research
    • Reasons to Participate
    • Participant Stories
    • Find a Study
    • Recruitment Support

User menu

  • Log in

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Our Research
  3. News and Stories
  4. Rethinking research through the cytokine storm

Rethinking research through the cytokine storm

Stories Mar 18, 2021 3 minutes

Widespread efforts to combat COVID-19 have underscored a need for a personalized medicine approach in research.

A greater understanding of how COVID-19 affects people individually has researchers calling for a more targeted and cross-disciplinary approach to medical research and patient care. 

“There can be a tendency in the health care field to operate in silos,” says Dr. Mypinder Sekhon, a Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) scientist and the lead author of a editorial on the COVID-19 cytokine storm syndrome (CSS) controversy that was published in the European Respiratory Journal.

Dr. Mypinder Sekhon is a clinical instructor in the Division of Critical Care Medicine and Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia and a neurointensivist and an intensive care physician at Vancouver General Hospital.

Cytokines are inflammatory signaling molecules that attack infections and other antigens. CSS occurs when the body’s immune system goes into overdrive, causing dangerously high levels of inflammation that damages healthy cells and can lead to organ failure—although, as Sekhon points out in his article, there is no official definition of CSS. 

The precursor to Sekhon’s editorial was the challenge clinicians faced when trying to identify which COVID-19 patients were more at risk of developing CSS.

“With COVID-19, there were two camps of thought: one believed that the virus was causing severe illness, while another believed patients’ immune systems were the main culprit, but the answer was that patients have different responses to the virus for various and complex reasons.” 

Patient segments revealed a cause of the COVID-19 cytokine storm 

Sekhon’s analysis of recent COVID-19 clinical findings highlights that severely ill COVID-19 patients tended to have elevated levels of inflammatory immune system-regulating proteins secreted by the body’s cells. Higher amounts of these mediators in the bloodstream can be an important biomarker of potentially concerning levels of inflammation. 

However, while blocking the actions of these inflammatory mediators can help improve some COVID-19 patients’ symptoms or disease severity, there is considerable heterogeneity in patients’ responses to COVID-19, says Sekhon. “This points to why we need to move beyond a one-size-fits all approach to this complex disease.”

“The current approach of many COVID-19 clinical trials has been to include all patients. However, given the drastic differences in the individual responses to this viral infection, we must focus on more targeted approaches.”

Segmenting patients into cohorts based on unique, identifiable characteristics is key, he says.

The COVID-19 virus can cause cells to secrete more interleukin-6 and related inflammatory mediators, which can drive a chain reaction that leads to dangerously high levels of inflammation in the body.

While around 80 per cent of COVID-19 patients will have mild symptoms, for 20 per cent of patients, infection can be severe, have long-lasting health effects and be potentially deadly. The more care can be tailored to meet the needs of each patient, the better their treatment outcomes are likely to be, says Sekhon. 

Sekhon adds that the road to personalized care can often be made sturdier through collaborations between multidisciplinary teams. 

“Complex problems, such as COVID-19,  require a concerted effort by researchers from various disciplines, departments and areas of expertise,” he says. “A multidisciplinary approach can help us develop a better understanding of a disease and a bench-to-bedside research program.”

“We are all on one team with the common purpose being to care for patients. We need to continue to take advantage of each other’s expertise and learn from one another.” 

 

Researchers

Mypinder Sekhon

Related Articles

Sniffing sleuths: Canine disease detectives

Heath care priority management post-COVID-19

COVID-19 linked to changes in the brain

Share:

  • Facebook
  • Linkedin
  • Twitter
  • Email

Related Research Centres/Programs

Centre for Lung Health

Get the latest research headlines in your inbox

Subscribe

Recent News and Stories

Type
Announcement

Celebrating the life and distinguished career of Dr. Marcel Dvorak

May 14, 2025
Type
Stories

More equitable representation needed in Parkinson’s research

May 9, 2025 parkinsons, patient engagement, women
Type
Stories

Gamified stroke recovery improves arm function

May 8, 2025 stroke, rehabilitation
See more news

Get updates!

Join our newsletter mailing list to stay up to date on features and releases.

Subscribe

Quick Links

  • News and Stories
  • Careers
  • Events
  • Media Enquiries

Follow Us

  • LinkedIn
  • X
  • YouTube

© 2025 VCHRI. All rights reserved.

  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy