Undergraduate Research @ SFSC

BSC1420C Intro to Biotechnology summer course - a. Angelita Equite-Zarate, Jean F. Fleurimond, Daniella Grace P. Jeanjaquet, Wendy Jiang, Colten Meier, Makayla Mendez, & Irfan M. Sharif; mentors Dr. Daniel Sanches, Dr. Mintoo Patel, Dr. Joe Velenovsky, & Dr. James Hawker

Students Mikylla Torralba & Ean Cheng; mentor Dr. Mintoo Patel

Karla Respress, SFSC Professor, Art

ABSTRACT: Ischemic strokes are the most common type of stroke worldwide, and a notable correlation between a COVID-19 diagnosis and the prevalence of ischemic strokes has been observed recently. It's been found that as COVID-19 spreads throughout the body, it may lead to infection of the artery wall tissue, giving rise to increased concentrations of atherosclerotic plaques, severely increasing the risk of a blockage in the arterial system. Awareness of this connection can help further treat and prevent potential stroke victims in advance and inform medical professionals in their future conduct when interacting with COVID patients. We analyzed the oral microbiome from four healthy individuals and while our initial sample is small, other studies have further corroborated these findings. In a follow-up literature review, we analyzed the results of previous studies while synthesizing them with our data to interrogate a connection between COVID-19 and ischemic strokes. The results show that COVID-19 is a notable independent risk factor for ischemic strokes. We believe that those diagnosed with COVID-19, especially those with other risk factors or co-morbidities that may leave them susceptible to ischemic strokes, take preventative measures and monitoring to ensure they remain in good health.