Several months into the COVID-19 pandemic, a small number of children began to develop a cluster of mysterious symptoms. These included rashes, red eyes, gastrointestinal symptoms and, most worrisome, heart problems. Why does this serious illness, now known as multisystem inflammatory disorder in children (MIS-C), strike some previously healthy children? And who is most at risk?
DNA sequencing is beginning to unravel the mystery. Drs. Janet Chou, Raif Geha, Adrienne Randolph, and other colleagues at Boston Children’s Hospital have been gathering blood samples and laboratory information from children with this rare condition to better understand who is susceptible. Although small, their recent study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology is one of the first to report specific genetic risk factors for MIS-C. All of them point to underlying problems with immune regulation.
