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Recovered COVID-19 patients exhibit cognitive deficits

Researchers in the UK and the United States have reported concerning findings showing that patients who had recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) exhibited significant cognitive deficits.

22 Oct 2020

New model could help identify people at risk for long COVID

Researchers in the UK, United States, and Sweden have presented new findings that could help identify individuals at risk of "long COVID" – a protracted course of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms last for more than 28 days.

22 Oct 2020

'Mini-lungs' can provide important insights into how COVID-19 damages the lungs

'Mini-lungs' grown from tissue donated to Cambridge hospitals has provided a team of scientists from South Korea and the UK with important insights into how COVID-19 damages the lungs.

22 Oct 2020

Study shows how genome sequencing can track mutations in SARS-CoV-2 virus

A study published in Cell Reports shows how next generation genetic sequencing can track mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which can in effect help with transmission tracing, diagnostic testing accuracy and vaccine effectiveness.

22 Oct 2020

Web-based analytics can help predict and respond to COVID-19 hot spots

Web-based analytics have demonstrated their value in predicting the spread of infectious disease, and a new study from Mayo Clinic indicates the value of analyzing Google web searches for keywords related to COVID-19.

22 Oct 2020

Study reveals why oxygen deficiency impairs brain cells

Brain cell dysfunction in low oxygen is, surprisingly, caused by the very same responder system that is intended to be protective, according to a new published study by a team of researchers at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

22 Oct 2020

Researchers assess molecular basis of SARS-CoV-2 severity and poor outcomes in lung disease

A recent study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in October 2020 shows that in patients with chronic lung disease, the pattern of gene expression in the different types of cell changes such that the lung epithelium is prepared to tackle SARS-CoV-2 infection. Also, the altered gene programs have an impact on the immune response.

22 Oct 2020

SARS-CoV-2 mutations dictate severity of COVID-19 disease

A recent study by researchers from Semmelweis University and Pazmany Peter Catholic University in Budapest, Hungary, published on the preprint server medRxiv in October 2020, shows the relationship of specific mutations on the disease's outcome.

22 Oct 2020

COVID-19 containment measures affecting other seasonal respiratory viruses

A recent study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in October 2020 indicates that so far, the containment measures put in place to prevent the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have effectively prevented the transmission of many other respiratory viruses.

21 Oct 2020

Brain metabolic changes associated with loss of smell in COVID-19

A recent study detailed in a preprint paper published in medRxiv, researchers from Belgium, discuss how they investigated possible central nervous system (CNS) involvement in COVID-19 patients with a sudden loss of smell using a hybrid positron emission tomography (PET)-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system (PET-MR).

21 Oct 2020

SARS-CoV-2 mutations possibly making virus less virulent

In their bioRxiv* preprint paper, the researchers focus on mapping the clade-specific mutations' effects on the protein structures' conformation and stability. They identified the mutations in the set of seven proteins - orf8, nsp2, nsp4, nsp6, nucleocapsid protein (N), and Spike protein (S).

21 Oct 2020

"Immunological imprinting" could influence antibody response to COVID-19

Researchers in the United States and Spain have shown that prior exposure to seasonal coronaviruses may influence antibody responses to infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

21 Oct 2020

More than 2.5 million person-years of life lost in US due to COVID-19

In a recently published study, researcher Stephen Elledge from Harvard Medical School has described converting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) death toll from individual deaths to “person-years” lost in order to provide a more accurate picture of the pandemic’s toll on the population.

21 Oct 2020

Study explains how certain foods can prevent respiratory tract infections

On 22 October 2020 paediatrician Ellen van der Gaag will receive her PhD for her thesis entitled 'Health-promoting effects of nutrition in children'.

21 Oct 2020

Breakthrough 25-minute COVID-19 test reaches final stages of clinical validation

A BREAKTHROUGH test for COVID-19 which works in just 25 minutes, with high accuracy and requiring only routine laboratory equipment, is currently in the final stages of clinical validation by British biotech firm MicrosensDx.

21 Oct 2020

First COPD patient treated with RejuvenAir System in a multicenter clinical trial

Temple University Hospital has treated the first patient in a multicenter international clinical trial utilizing the RejuvenAir System for the treatment of patients suffering from moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with chronic bronchitis.

21 Oct 2020