Respiratory News and Research

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Researchers conduct aerosol characterization experiments to protect healthcare workers from COVID-19

The rapid spread of COVID-19 overwhelmed hospitals that were unable to contend with the increasing number of patients, many requiring ventilators and other critical care. Such conditions can put medical workers at risk. Now researchers are studying methods to increase hospital safety and efficacy during the pandemic.

24 Nov 2020

Early high-titer convalescent plasma prevents 75% of severe COVID-19 in elderly

A promising new clinical study published on the preprint server medRxiv reports that if convalescent plasma with a high titer of antibodies is given early in the course of COVID-19 in elderly patients, the risk of severe illness is reduced by 73%.

24 Nov 2020

Special activity trackers could be used to detect early sign of heart problems

Special activity trackers can be used to fairly accurately determine the respiratory rate of people while they sleep.

23 Nov 2020

Marinomed to initiate clinical trial with Carragelose for preventing COVID19 in frontline healthcare staff

Marinomed Biotech AG, a globally operating biopharmaceutical company, announced today plans to initiate a Phase IV clinical trial with Carragelose (iota-carrageenan).

23 Nov 2020

Favorable clinical outcome for ivermectin in COVID-19 animal model

A team of researchers at the Institut Pasteur in France has found that ivermectin prevented clinical deterioration in infected animals. The drug also reduced the inflammatory cytokines, interleukin-6 and 10 (IL-6 and IL-10) in lung tissue, which leads to more favorable clinical outcomes in treated animals.

23 Nov 2020

Thromboembolism in COVID-19 patients associated with higher risk of mortality

While respiratory issues continue to be the most common symptom of a COVID-19 infection, new research indicates the disease could also be associated with hypercoagulability, or increased tendency of the blood to clot.

23 Nov 2020

Scientists studying aerodynamics of infectious disease reveal ways to reduce indoor SARS-CoV-2 transmission

At the 73rd Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society's Division of the Americal Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics, researchers presented a range of studies investigating the aerodynamics of infectious disease.

23 Nov 2020

FDA expands approved indication for influenza treatment to include post-exposure prevention

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the approved indication for Xofluza (baloxavir marboxil) to include post-exposure prevention of influenza (flu) for patients 12 years of age and older after contact with an individual who has the flu.

23 Nov 2020

New CDC report describes COVID-19 in NYC in early spring

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), has published an update on the outbreak in New York City. The report is titled, "COVID-19 Outbreak — New York City, February 29–June 1, 2020".

23 Nov 2020

Mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patients may be contagious for longer than previously thought

Researchers in Brazil have reported two cases of people with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) shedding infectious virus for a significantly longer period than has previously been reported.

23 Nov 2020

Repeat infection following COVID-19 recovery may not pose risk to close contacts

Researchers in China have conducted a study suggesting that people who have recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may not pose a risk to close contacts if they become reinfected with the causative agent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).

23 Nov 2020

SARS-CoV-2's spike protein mutations have slowed, study finds

A team of researchers at the School of Information Sciences in Illinois, USA, has revealed the rate of mutation in the 29 proteins that make up the SARS-CoV-2 microbe.

23 Nov 2020

How COVID-19 compares to other respiratory illnesses

A team of scientists from Israel and the United States has compared the disease presentation and progression between in-hospital patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and other respiratory illnesses such as influenza.

23 Nov 2020

SARS-CoV-2 spike deletion mutations may evade current vaccine candidates, study finds

A thought-provoking new study reports that the anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike antibodies elicited by natural infection may not be able to neutralize emerging strains that display deletion mutations in their genomic RNA.

23 Nov 2020

Nasal dryness could be an early warning sign of COVID-19

A new study published by an international team of researchers on the preprint medRxiv* server in November 2020 details the nasal symptoms that are associated with anosmia and ageusia (loss of smell and taste) in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), including the early warning signs of infection.

23 Nov 2020

Modified SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain could increase vaccine efficacy, says study

A team of researchers from the USA and China have engineered a receptor-binding domain (RBD) that they claim improves the immunogenicity of multivalent SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Their study, which was released on the bioRxiv* in November 2020, may help advance even more efficacious SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates in the future.

23 Nov 2020

Researchers develop recombinant SARS-CoV-2 model to aid vaccine and antiviral research

Researchers have developed a fluorescent reporter gene-bearing recombinant form of SARS-CoV-2, which is capable of replication.

23 Nov 2020

Chicago seroprevalence study shows COVID-19 cases 16 times higher than currently predicted

A startling new case study of Chicago, led by a team of researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois, USA, suggests a 16-fold higher incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection than previously thought. This is judging from seroprevalence (antibody presence blood testing) figures, rather than the number of RT-PCR-positives reported there (via swab sample testing of symptomatic patients).

23 Nov 2020

Compounds in traditional Chinese medicine herbs may inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection

Using computational methods, a team of researchers identified three compounds in traditional Chinese medicine that could be used against SARS-CoV-2.

23 Nov 2020

Parents complain that pediatricians, wary of COVID, shift sick kids to urgent care

A mom of eight boys, Kim Gudgeon was at her wits' end when she called her family doctor in suburban Chicago to schedule a sick visit for increasingly fussy, 1-year-old Bryce.

23 Nov 2020

Respiratory News and Research

Researchers conduct aerosol characterization experiments to protect healthcare workers from COVID-19

Early high-titer convalescent plasma prevents 75% of severe COVID-19 in elderly

Special activity trackers could be used to detect early sign of heart problems

Marinomed to initiate clinical trial with Carragelose for preventing COVID19 in frontline healthcare staff

Favorable clinical outcome for ivermectin in COVID-19 animal model

Thromboembolism in COVID-19 patients associated with higher risk of mortality

Scientists studying aerodynamics of infectious disease reveal ways to reduce indoor SARS-CoV-2 transmission

FDA expands approved indication for influenza treatment to include post-exposure prevention

New CDC report describes COVID-19 in NYC in early spring

Mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patients may be contagious for longer than previously thought

Repeat infection following COVID-19 recovery may not pose risk to close contacts

SARS-CoV-2's spike protein mutations have slowed, study finds

How COVID-19 compares to other respiratory illnesses

SARS-CoV-2 spike deletion mutations may evade current vaccine candidates, study finds

Nasal dryness could be an early warning sign of COVID-19

Modified SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain could increase vaccine efficacy, says study

Researchers develop recombinant SARS-CoV-2 model to aid vaccine and antiviral research

Chicago seroprevalence study shows COVID-19 cases 16 times higher than currently predicted

Compounds in traditional Chinese medicine herbs may inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection

Parents complain that pediatricians, wary of COVID, shift sick kids to urgent care

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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