Immunomodulatory News and Research

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Statin use associated with reduction in mortality of patients with severe COVID-19

People who took statins to lower cholesterol were approximately 50% less likely to die if hospitalized for COVID-19, a study by physicians at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian has found.

26 Feb 2021

CAR T-cell therapy produces deep, sustained remissions in patients with relapsed myeloma

In a major advance in the treatment of multiple myeloma, a CAR T-cell therapy has generated deep, sustained remissions in patients who had relapsed from several previous therapies, an international clinical trial has found.

24 Feb 2021

Corticosteroid receptor inhibitor shows anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in vivo

A team of researchers examined PT150, which is an allosteric modulator of androgen and glucocorticoid receptors, to assess whether it had any antiviral activity or immunomodulatory activity to decrease the hyperinflammatory response of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

24 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2 variants emerge during humoral immunity phase of acute COVID-19

A new preprint research paper posted to the bioRxiv server reports the rapid emergence of variants within an infected individual. The evolution of the virus within an infected host is not excluded by the close similarity between the consensus sequences of single-person SARS-CoV-2, since the number of viral copies is at its peak soon after infection occurs and before the host develops adaptive immunity.

23 Feb 2021

TBE patients continue to be affected by long-term problems

Impaired memory, reduced motivation, and declining motor skills. These are some of the problems that may persist several years after people contract tick-borne encephalitis, a University of Gothenburg thesis shows.

23 Feb 2021

Countries with older populations have higher SARS-CoV-2 infections and deaths, says study

A new study examines some patterns revealed by a study of the factors operating in different regions and countries, to offer plausible hypotheses of these variations.

23 Feb 2021

Mucosal delivery of IFNs a good strategy for COVID-19 prophylaxis post-exposure

Researchers from the UK and Germany recently reported a comprehensive characterization of the SARS-CoV-2 response of human nasal epithelial cells, revealing a response dominated by IFN-I/IIIs. Also, recombinant IFN-I/III treatment was found to efficiently block the replication of SARS-CoV-2, which suggests that mucosal delivery of IFNs may be a good strategy for prophylaxis post-exposure.

22 Feb 2021

Probiotics may be beneficial in COVID-19 treatment

A new study explores the role of common probiotics in managing the disease, which could prove to be of great value, given the emergence of new variants and the broad spectrum of clinical disease in COVID-19.

17 Feb 2021

Immunomodulatory drugs improve the success rate of cancer therapies

Immunomodulatory drugs, including the Contergan derivatives lenalidomide and pomalidomide, have significantly improved the therapy of hematologic malignancies such as multiple myeloma.

15 Feb 2021

Scientists make four major discoveries about SARS-CoV-2

University of Minnesota Medical School researchers studied SARS-CoV-2 infections at individual cellular levels and made four major discoveries about the virus, including one that validates the effectiveness of remdesivir - an FDA-approved antiviral drug - as a form of treatment for severe COVID-19 disease.

10 Feb 2021

UIC researchers receive $10.15 million grant to develop treatment for dry eye conditions

Researchers at University of Illinois Chicago have been awarded a five-year, $10.15 million grant to develop a broad-spectrum immunomodulatory eye drop to treat patients with severe dry eye and ocular surface disease due to inflammatory and immune system disorders.

9 Feb 2021

Can early use of colchicine reduce COVID-19 mortality?

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has caused well over 2.3 million deaths in a little over a year. A new meta-analysis reports the potential utility of colchicine in treating SARS-CoV-2 infection and forestalling severe and life-threatening inflammation of the lungs and other organs.

8 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2 delays interferon signaling in host cells

A team of scientists from Sweden and India has recently conducted a study to evaluate type I interferon (IFN-I) responses in cells infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The findings reveal that SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with a delayed and dysregulated IFN-I response and that pretreatment with IFN-I can reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

7 Feb 2021

Novel immunotherapy approach to revert the main hallmarks of cat allergy

Researchers from the Department of Infection and Immunity of the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) brought forward the potential of high doses of a specific adjuvant molecule, namely CpG oligonucleotide, in successfully modulating the immune system's allergic response to the main cat allergen Fel d 1, thereby inducing a tolerance-promoting reaction and reverting the main hallmarks of cat allergy.

5 Feb 2021

Research shows intestinal parasite infestations reduce COVID-19 severity

Now, new research out of Mekelle, Ethiopia, examines the role of parasitic infestation on the prognosis of COVID-19. The research paper, which appears on the preprint server medRxiv, shows that intestinal parasitosis is protective against severe COVID-19.

4 Feb 2021

Remyelinating drug shows potential to improve vision in patients with MS

A team led by a biomedical scientist at the University of California, Riverside, reports a drug -- an estrogen receptor ligand called indazole chloride (IndCl) -- has the potential to improve vision in patients with multiple sclerosis, or MS.

2 Feb 2021

Complication of severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia results in persistent cortical blindness: Case report

A study recently published in the journal Cureus has described a case report of a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patient who presented with pneumonia, posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES), and persistent cortical blindness. A detailed clinical presentation of the patient is provided in the report.

31 Jan 2021