Immunomodulatory News and Research

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Humoral and cellular response to COVID-19 vaccines in patients with IBD

A new study published in the preprint server medRxiv* aimed to evaluate the humoral and cellular response to COVID-19 vaccine in patients with IBD undergoing biologic or immunomodulatory therapy.

17 Sep 2021

COVID-19 and the gut-lung axis

A new study explores the hypothesis that stimulation of the gut could be responsible for the lung inflammation seen in COVID-19, triggered by SARS-CoV-2.

16 Sep 2021

A review of mesenchymal stem cell therapy for severe COVID-19

Researchers find that MSC treatment is highly tolerated and effective in reducing lung damage in COVID-19 patients and improving their chances of recovery.

13 Sep 2021

Decreased COVID-19 vaccine efficacy amongst IBS patients receiving anti-TNFα drugs

In a paper recently uploaded to the preprint server medRxiv* by Edelman-Klapper et al., the efficacy of the mRNA vaccine is examined amongst IBD patients and compared with healthy volunteers, finding reduced efficacy amongst those receiving anti-TNFα medication.

6 Sep 2021

New review looks at the bottlenecks and breakthroughs in cancer immunotherapy

After over a century of development, cancer immunotherapy (CIT) has risen to become a promising approach for treating cancer. Unlike conventional methods that try to kill cancer cells directly, CIT involves modifying or stimulating the immune system's natural ability to fight the disease. So far, various CIT treatments have shown remarkable results in terms of survival rates, and many new and combination strategies are currently under study.

1 Sep 2021

Glycyrrhizic acid as a drug candidate for COVID-19

A new study presents the benefits of licorice, an age-old herbal remedy, to treat COVID-19 at all stages.

24 Aug 2021

How can COVID-19 affect the skin?

A new review published in the journal Canadian Family Physician describes skin diseases caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

20 Aug 2021

SARS-CoV-2 ORF8 and the expression of cytokine in human macrophages

A new study has determined the production of the SARS-CoV-2 SP-dependent ORF8.

18 Aug 2021

Fighting SARS-CoV-2 with nanomedicine

Published in the Journal of Controlled Release, researchers from the German University in Cairo, and the University of Cologne, looked into nano-reformulation of repurposed antiviral and immune-modulating drugs for inhalation therapy against COVID-19. In addition, they focused on how nanomedicine could address the limitations of current therapeutics, enhancing the efficacy, specificity, and safety of such drugs.

1 Aug 2021

Study looks at potent phytocompounds from Himalayan herbs to treat COVID-19

Considering the antiviral activity of medicinal herbs, a new study published in the journal Current Pharmacology Reports focuses on the identification of potent phytochemicals from Himalayan herbs, namely, Rheum emodi, Thymus serpyllum, and Artemisia annua, for the treatment of COVID-19.

1 Aug 2021

Scientists uncover genetics involved in COVID-19 induced respiratory failure

A new genetic study from an international team of scientists has uncovered genes involved in severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) illness.

27 Jul 2021

About 4 in 100 COVID-19 hospitalized children may develop neurological complications, a study finds

In a recently published article in The Lancet’s Child & Adolescent Health, scientists have described in detail neurological and psychiatric manifestations of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in children. As mentioned in the study, an estimated prevalence of infection-related neurological complications and pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome in hospitalized children and adolescents is about 3.8 cases per 100 patients.

15 Jul 2021

Could corticosteroids increase mortality in COVID-19 patients without high oxygen supplementation?

A new paper focuses on the role of corticosteroids, in particular, as these were widely used among patients on intensive respiratory support (IRS).

14 Jul 2021

Molecular dynamic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors

A new study reports the results of molecular dynamic simulations that were performed in an effort to identify new drugs that could be effective against SARS-CoV-2.

13 Jul 2021

Could aspirin intake reduce mortality risk in COVID-19 patients?

Scientists from the Michigan State University, USA, have conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare mortality rate in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients who are aspirin users or non-users. The Findings reveal that the use of aspirin is associated with a significant reduction in overall and in-hospital mortality rates.

13 Jul 2021

“React and inject”: synthetic peptide-modified nanodiamonds as emergency pan-coronavirus vaccines

A recent study published in the MDPI journal, Pathogens, describes a coronavirus peptide vaccine antigen in the form of nanodiamond-based formulations, that demonstrated a robust and long-lasting immune response. The nanodiamonds proved to be a powerful and versatile platform for antigen conjugation. This could make it a safe and effective strategy for the production of off-the-shelf vaccines against multiple coronaviruses.

13 Jul 2021

Scientists discover potential marker for the success of immunotherapy in lung cancer patients

Lung cancer has the highest mortality rate of all cancers, and treatment options are extremely limited, especially for patients with oncogenic mutations in the KRAS gene.

8 Jul 2021

Metabolomics lab analysis reveals large nutritional differences between near-meat and meat

Plant-based meat substitutes taste and chew remarkably similar to real beef, and the 13 items listed on their nutrition labels - vitamins, fats and protein -- make them seem essentially equivalent.

6 Jul 2021

Stool transplant may be worth exploring as treatment option for COVID-19

It might be worth exploring stool transplant to treat COVID-19 infection, suggest doctors in a letter published online in the journal Gut, after they used the procedure in two patients to prevent the recurrence of another bacterial infection.

2 Jul 2021

Study finds minimal SARS-CoV-2 viral load in vaginal secretions

The virus has also been observed to be present in blood, urine, feces, and tears, though not in semen. Vaginal secretions have not been consistently shown to be positive for the virus in most studies. The authors of a new study in the Journal of Clinical Medicine affirm that the presence of the virus in the vagina is rare, irrespective of pregnancy.

28 Jun 2021