covid 19 News and Research

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Expert warns that UK employers may face legal action over COVID-19 exposure

Employers across the UK could face legal action from employees who return to work and contract the COVID-19 virus, a leading health and safety expert has warned.

1 Jun 2020

Coronavirus surprise: IRS allows midyear insurance and FSA changes

The economic upheaval and social disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic have upended the assumptions many people made last fall about which insurance plan to sign up for, or how much of their pretax wages to sock away in health or dependent care flexible spending accounts.

1 Jun 2020

Using lung simulators to help tackle COVID-19

COVID-19 is a virus that affects the respiratory system in humans. By using realistic lung simulators, we can understand how this virus affects the lungs.

From neosim AG 1 Jun 2020

Researchers develop new method to measure hydroxychloroquine levels in SLE patients

Researchers at Uppsala University and Uppsala University Hospital have developed a new method to measure levels of the medication hydroxychloroquine in patients with rheumatic disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

1 Jun 2020

Researchers use optical mapping system to observe the effect of hydroxychloroquine

The malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which has been promoted as a potential treatment for Covid-19, is known to have potentially serious effects on heart rhythms.

1 Jun 2020

Social isolation can lead to depression in children long after current lockdown

Children and adolescents are likely to experience high rates of depression and anxiety long after current lockdown and social isolation ends and clinical services need to be prepared for a future spike in demand, according to the authors of a new rapid review into the long-term mental health effects of lockdown.

1 Jun 2020

No specific COVID-19-linked lesions found despite extensive organ injury

A recent paper published online on the preprint server medRxiv in May 2020 reports autopsy results on COVID-19 patients. The paper concludes that there were no specific hallmark lesions of COVID-19 in any of the many organs found to be injured by the infection in patients who died of the disease.

1 Jun 2020

How COVID-19 affects the nervous system

A new paper published in the journal JAMA Neurology in May 2020 discusses the presentation and complications of COVID-19 with respect to the nervous system.

31 May 2020

Deep vein clots in critical COVID-19 illness

A new research paper published in the journal JAMA Network Open in May 2020 reports a high incidence of deep vein clots in patients with severe COVID-19 at a single French medical center. This could indicate the need for systematic anticoagulant therapy in these patients as a preventive measure.

31 May 2020

Anosmia and changes in brain MRI in COVID-19

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic was sweeping across the world, new symptoms and clinical presentations appeared, often confusing the picture. A case report from Italy, published in the journal JAMA Neurology in May 2020, shows that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may be a neurotropic virus, and may cause infection to present primarily with anosmia.

31 May 2020

Significant number of COVID-19 positive cases asymptomatic, raising transmission concerns

There have been many instances of people testing positive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) who have no symptoms of the infection whatsoever. These asymptomatic patients are, however, still capable of spreading the infection without being aware of it, say experts.

31 May 2020

Ruxolitinib shows promise in severe COVID-19

An anti-inflammatory drug Ruxolitinib has shown promising results in the treatment of severe coronavirus disease COVID-19. The study titled, “Ruxolitinib in treatment of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A multicenter, single-blind, randomized controlled trial,” was published as a pre-proof for the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

31 May 2020

COVID-19 mortality is significantly higher in hospitalized patients with diabetes

A new meta-analysis published on the preprint server medRxiv by the researchers from the United States and Greece reveals that the likelihood of death is 65% higher in hospitalized coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients with diabetes when compared to non-diabetics – urging the adequate glucose control in the era of the pandemic.

31 May 2020

How susceptible are domestic animals to SARS-CoV-2?

A recent paper by Chinese researchers, published in the leading journal Science, shows that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) does not replicate well in dogs, pigs, chickens, and ducks; however, ferrets and cats are easily infected, and cats may transmit the virus via an airborne route.

31 May 2020

Genetic shuffling and evolutionary selection may have led to SARS-CoV-2 emergence

A combination of genetic shuffling and evolutionary selection of near-identical genetic sequences among specific bat and pangolin coronaviruses may have led to the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and its introduction into humans, a new study suggests.

30 May 2020

When flu season converges with COVID-19

As if the COVID-19 pandemic isn't scary enough, the flu season is not far away. How severe will the flu season be as it converges with the COVID-19 outbreak? What can we do to prepare?

30 May 2020

Mathematical model predicts COVID-19 resurgence if physical distancing measures are relaxed

If physical distancing measures in Ontario are relaxed too much or too quickly, the province could see hospitals overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients as well as exponential growth in deaths, concludes new research involving a University of Guelph infectious disease modeller.

30 May 2020

Interactive online dashboard tracks COVID-19 cases in real time

Two University of Cincinnati students have developed an interactive dashboard that shows COVID-19 cases and deaths in Greater Cincinnati and other major U.S. cities. Known as the COVID-19 Watcher, it joins a list of options available to the public to track the novel coronavirus.

30 May 2020

Preventing novel coronavirus from entering into a host cell

How might the novel coronavirus be prevented from entering a host cell in an effort to thwart infection? A team of biomedical scientists has made a discovery that points to a solution.

30 May 2020

Scientists track SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater

Epidemiologist David Larsen, from Syracuse University and microbiologists Hyatt Green, from the College of Environmental Science and Forestry and Frank Middleton, from Upstate Medical University are lead members of a multi-institution research project that is expected to have global application in future efforts to track and contain Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

30 May 2020