CRASH CAGE: Identification of Causes, Reasons And Solutions for High COVID-19 mortality rate in AGEd populations (CRASH CAGE)

CRASH CAGE is one of the chosen projects of the One Health Funds 2020. It is led by CIHLMU Alumni: Francesco Nicoli (PI), Deepak Paudel and María Teresa Solis-Soto, in collaboration with CIHLMU partner institutions.

The epidemiology of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have revealed a dramatic mortality rate in older age groups. The CRASH CAGE project wants to explore social, epidemiological and biological causes of differences in COVID-19 mortality rates across countries and age groups, convinced that findings may be relevant also for future emerging infections and other zoonosis.

Within this project, we aim at:

1. understanding social and demographic factors associated with high COVID-19 mortality
2. identifying the biological reasons for poor immunological control of SARS-CoV-2 infection in old and frail subjects

Furthermore, we propose to exploit the scientific knowledge for the development of effective communication strategies aimed at improving the compliance to preventive measures, especially in older citizens.

For more information please see the CRASH CAGE Article "Old and new coronaviruses in the elderly" or the Paper "Impaired Priming of SARS-CoV-2-Specific Naive CD8+ T Cells in Older Subjects".