Immunomodulatory News and Research

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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

Tocilizumab and sarilumab shown to be effective in critical COVID-19

A new study, released as a preprint on the medRxiv* server, describes how a team of researchers from the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands explored the efficacy of four monoclonal antibodies that antagonize powerful pro-inflammatory pathways. The team sought to determine which were useful in treating critically ill COVID-19 patients on organ support.

28 Jun 2021

Mayo Clinic researchers are working toward new CAR-T cell treatment for multiple myeloma

Researchers at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center are studying a potential new chimeric antigen receptor-T cell therapy (CAR-T cell therapy) treatment for multiple myeloma.

25 Jun 2021

Is COVID-19 more severe in pregnancy?

A new study, released as a preprint on the medRxiv* server, indicates that pregnant women are more likely to develop severe disease following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

24 Jun 2021

Repurposing immunomodulatory drugs to treat COVID-19

EULAR has released new points to consider on the use of immunomodulatory drugs in the fight against severe COVID-19.

23 Jun 2021

A study on hospitalized COVID-19 patients who received plasma therapy

A new study has been published which focuses on the evaluation of the outcomes of infected COVID-19 patients who were treated with CCP therapy.

23 Jun 2021

Study provides treatment guidance for children and adolescents with multisystem inflammatory syndrome

An analysis conducted by a group of investigators including Tamara Bradford, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, found that children and adolescents with Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) initially treated with intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) plus glucocorticoids had a lower risk of new or persistent cardiovascular dysfunction than IVIG alone.

22 Jun 2021

Do the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines elicit different antibody responses?

A recent study led by scientists from the United States has compared the anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibody response among clinicians who have been immunized with Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine.

22 Jun 2021

Western diet increases COVID-19 severity in a hamster model

Researchers have shown that a Western diet may affect viral replication, disease severity, and immune protection following infection with SARS-CoV-2.

21 Jun 2021

Can convalescent plasma therapy improve COVID-19 outcomes in patients with hematologic cancers?

A recent study discusses the findings of a study on patients with hematologic cancers who received convalescent plasma therapy following their diagnosis of COVID-19.

21 Jun 2021

Which vitamins and minerals help with COVID?

A study published in the journal Inflammopharmacology reviewed recent data related to the role of vitamins and minerals in treating COVID-19 patients. The primary goal of the review is to highlight the possible therapeutic role of vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K, and micronutrients as immunity boosters in COVID-19 patients.

18 Jun 2021

Alkaloids show potential as treatments for COVID-19

To further study these organic compounds, researchers from Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran, and Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Chile, reviewed the role of alkaloids as a potential antiviral, specifically against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). They presented the chemistry, plant sources, and antiviral effects of alkaloids and their anti-SARS-CoV-2 effect.

15 Jun 2021

Plasma zinc status not an effective prognostic factor for hospitalized COVID-19 patients

Due to previous evidence suggesting that zinc deficiencies can lead to complications along with an impaired antiviral response, a group of international researchers has undertaken a prospective observational study to investigate this association further.

14 Jun 2021

Structural analogs of triterpenoids show strong inhibitory activity against coronaviruses

In a recent study published in the journal Pathogens, researchers carried out a molecular docking study for 17 structural analogs prepared from natural maslinic and oleanolic acids and screened them against SARS-CoV-2 main protease. They also experimentally validated the data by determining the half-maximal cytotoxic and inhibitory concentrations of each of the 17 compounds. The researchers investigated whether the compound with antiviral activity affected viral adsorption, replication, or viricidal effect using a plaque infectivity reduction assay.

9 Jun 2021

Pathogenic airway neutrophilia drives ARDS in Black patients with severe COVID-19 in case study

Researchers from the US used a systems immunology approach where they combined high-dimensional flow cytometry and multi-omics single-cell sequencing analyses of immune profiles taken from the airways and matching blood samples of Black/AA patients.

9 Jun 2021

Immunomodulatory therapies for nephrological autoimmune diseases may help treat severe COVID-19

Various viruses and bacteria have long been known to cause autoimmune diseases where there is such a predisposition. This phenomenon also seems to play a major role in SARS-CoV-2, especially in severe courses.

8 Jun 2021

Researchers identify a bacterium with anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in vitro: Dolosigranulum pigrum

As intensive efforts are on to counter the virus, a new study by an international team of researchers reports the unexpected success of a bacterium in modulating the immune response in the airway and protecting the cells against infection with this virus.

7 Jun 2021

Methotrexate users fail to achieve adequate immune response to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines

Up to a third of patients taking methotrexate – a common treatment for immune mediated inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis – failed to achieve an adequate immune response to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in a small study accepted for publication in the journal Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

4 Jun 2021

Hydroxychloroquine + Azithromycin therapy at a higher dose improved survival by nearly 200% in ventilated COVID patients

However, a fascinating new study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server suggests that such disappointment may have been both premature and unwarranted, based on a re-analysis of over 250 patients on invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) during the first two months of the pandemic.

2 Jun 2021

E484K mutation may confer immune evasion capability on UK variant of SARS-CoV-2

A new medRxiv* preprint reports the immunomodulatory effect of the E484K mutation newly acquired by the United Kingdom (U.K.) variant.