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Study shows why antiretroviral therapy does not work in certain HIV patients

Increasingly, UPMC's chief of infectious diseases - a well-regarded expert in HIV/AIDS - is contacted by a perplexed physician describing a patient with HIV who insists they are adhering to the daily medication regimen meant to keep the virus in check, but testing says otherwise.

6 Oct 2020

Chronic illnesses promote active SARS-CoV-2 infection via suppressed mucosal immunity

A recent paper published in the preprint server medRxiv in September 2020 discusses the “clinically relevant variation in the expression of COVID-19-related genes”, which is associated with the host and environmental factors, as well as host genetic factors.

6 Oct 2020

Cats and dogs are low risk for SARS-CoV-2 transmission to humans

Researchers from the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University studied the possible transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) among domestic cats and dogs.

5 Oct 2020

Study confirms SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein promotes a hyper-inflammatory immune response

A group of researchers from Australia and China recently demonstrated how SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein subunit 1 can induce a pro-inflammatory signaling pathway (leading to cytokines deployment and epithelial damage in human bronchial epithelial cells), but also highlighted the potential of peptide-based antivirals in tackling this novel coronavirus.

5 Oct 2020

Macrophage subgroups may play pivotal role in COVID-19 lethality

Many researchers are attempting to identify risk factors for severe or critical COVID-19. A recent paper in the journal Medical Hypotheses in September 2020 suggests that macrophage class activation is one of the factors that determine the clinical phenotype of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

5 Oct 2020

Scientists map genetic networks that control the biology of regulatory T cells

Unlike most T cells, which launch immune responses against foreign molecules, regulatory T cells are the peacekeepers of the human immune system, damping down inflammatory reactions when they're not needed.

1 Oct 2020

New multiplexed test with a low-cost sensor may enable at-home COVID diagnosis

One feature of the COVID-19 virus that makes it so difficult to contain is that it can be easily spread to others by a person who has yet to show any signs of infection.

1 Oct 2020

Lung tissue in fatal COVID-19 shows broad cell tropism and extensive damage

In a recent preprint paper published on the medRxiv server, researchers demonstrated their investigation of fatal COVID-19 patients to assess infection in various cell types and the extent of damage it caused to the lung tissues.

30 Sep 2020

NIH awards grants for using bioengineered models to improve clinical trial design

Clinical Trials on a Chip researchers plan to build and test common and rare disease models to help improve the clinical trial process.

30 Sep 2020

Persistent-poverty counties face high risk of cancer mortality

Residents of counties that experience persistent poverty face a disproportionately high risk of cancer mortality, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

30 Sep 2020

A TLR2 agonist reduces SARS-CoV-2 in upper respiratory tract of ferret model

In a recent bioRxiv* preprint paper, Professor Miles W. Carroll et al. study an agonist for reducing the SARS-CoV-2's viral load. They show that prophylactic intra-nasal administration of TLR2/6 (toll-like receptor) agonist, INNA-051, reduces viral RNA in the nose and throat, in a ferret model.

30 Sep 2020

Different triggers for Kawasaki disease suggest slightly different genetic susceptibilities

Researchers at University of California San Diego report that while Kawasaki disease (KD) occurs in clusters, the traits, and thus the triggers of the inflammatory disease vary among clusters. The findings are published in the September 2020 online issue of The Journal of Pediatrics.

30 Sep 2020

Researchers develop research model to understand the impact of coronavirus on lungs

Scientists at Boston University's National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) and the Center for Regenerative Medicine (CReM) joined forces to develop the most relevant research model possible for understanding how the coronavirus virus impacts the lungs, by engineering living, "breathing" human lung cells from stem cells for the task.

30 Sep 2020

Study shows tofacitinib drug can repair permeability defects in the intestine

A team of researchers led by biomedical scientist Declan F. McCole at the University of California, Riverside, has found that the drug tofacitinib, also called Xeljanz and approved by the FDA to treat rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis, can repair permeability defects in the intestine.

30 Sep 2020

Intermittent fasting no better for weight loss than eating throughout the day, study finds

As more people become overweight and obese, diet crazes are becoming more popular than ever. One of the most popular diets today is intermittent fasting, an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating. Previous studies have tied intermittent fasting to weight loss.

29 Sep 2020