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Cardiac surgery stalled as novel coronavirus spread

As the novel coronavirus spread across the globe in early 2020, hospitals worldwide scaled back medical procedures, including life-saving heart surgery, to deal with the emerging threat of COVID-19.

28 May 2020

Genomic variation and descent of SARS-CoV-2 strains in India

The pandemic of COVID-19 that is still affecting over 188 countries and territories the world over has taken over 359,000 lives in just under five months, while affecting at least 5.8 million people. Different strains have diverged from the original strain detected in Wuhan, China.

28 May 2020

Study reports COVID-19 case-fatality trends among people with IDD

A new study published recently in ScienceDirect by researchers from Syracuse University and SUNY Upstate Medical University shows that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are more likely to die from COVID-19 than those without IDD.

28 May 2020

Ferritin heavy chain protein shows promise as a potential SARS-CoV-2 vaccine or antiviral

A new study published on the online preprint server bioRxiv in May 2020 reports the construction and testing of a new ferritin-based antigen-bearing protein that has biological activity towards the ACE2 receptor. This could indicate its potential for development as a vaccine or antiviral.

28 May 2020

Experts issue new guidance to improve stroke care amid COVID-19

Top stroke experts have issued new guidance to ensure stroke patients receive safe, timely care while preventing the transmission of COVID-19.

28 May 2020

A closer look at TMPRSS2: This could help treat COVID-19

The transmembrane protease serine-type 2 (TMPRSS2) protein plays a key role in COVID-19 infection since it primes the viral spike protein to allow viral entry into the target cell. A new study by researchers at Imperial College London and published on the preprint server bioRxiv in May 2020 describes the protein, which could be an attractive drug target to help manage COVID-19.

28 May 2020

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Still seeking a federal coronavirus strategy

The Trump administration sent its COVID-19 testing strategy plan to Congress, formalizing its policy that most testing responsibilities should remain with individual states.

28 May 2020

Research provides important insights into genetic adaptation of SARS-CoV-2 to humans

In their groundbreaking paper available on the preprint server medRxiv, University of Pittsburgh researchers were appraising signals of SARS-CoV-2 genome evolution and found that purifying selection (i.e., removal of deleterious mutations) represents the dominant trait during early coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic - suggesting that the virus will evolve as it diversifies in a growing number of hosts.

28 May 2020

Adequate building ventilation can help tackle airborne transmission of Covid-19

Preventing airborne transmission of Covid-19 should be the next front of the battle against the virus, argue experts from the University of Surrey.

28 May 2020

Transgenic mouse model of HLH may play key role in saving lives during COVID-19

A transgenic mouse developed at Cincinnati Children's to model the deadly childhood immune disease HLH (hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis) may play a key role in saving lives during the COVID-19 virus pandemic.

28 May 2020

Some ivory towers are ideal for a pandemic. Most aren’t.

Saint Mary's College in Moraga, California, is open for business this fall — but to get there, you really have to want it. Tucked amid verdant hills 23 miles east of San Francisco, accessible by a single road and a single entrance, the small, private Roman Catholic school receives almost no visitors by accident.

28 May 2020

Nearly 50% of COVID-19 patients have altered sense of tastes

Nearly half of individuals who contract COVID-19 experience changes in their sense of taste, a new analysis led by a University of Toledo researcher has found.

28 May 2020

For seniors, COVID-19 sets off a pandemic of despair

As states relax coronavirus restrictions, older adults are advised, in most cases, to keep sheltering in place. But for some, the burden of isolation and uncertainty is becoming hard to bear.

28 May 2020

Antibody tests were hailed as way to end lockdowns. Instead, they cause confusion.

Aspen was an early COVID-19 hot spot in Colorado, with a cluster of cases in March linked to tourists visiting for its world-famous skiing. Tests were in short supply, making it difficult to know how the virus was spreading.

28 May 2020

Molecular signatures can predict outcome of sepsis patients based on their immune response

Scientists have identified molecular signatures in the immune component of the blood which indicate how patients in intensive care with sepsis, septic shock and systemic inflammatory response syndrome are likely to respond to the conditions.

28 May 2020

Shandong University offers high-tech support to fight against coronavirus epidemic

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the SDU-NTU Joint Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research has developed two types of robots, which were sent to hospitals in Wuhan and Huanggang in China’s Hubei Province to aid front-line fight against the coronavirus epidemic.

28 May 2020

Measuring the binding of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies to the COVID spike protein using SPR

Ryan Denomme, the CEO of Nicoya, speaks to News-Medical on their SARS-CoV-2 research using their SPR technology.

From Nicoya Lifesciences 28 May 2020

Clinical trial of COVID-19 vaccine starts in Australia

Over 100 candidate vaccines are being explored as a means of ending the COVID-19 pandemic. Eight of these have already made it to clinical trials in humans, and another 94 are in the pre-clinical evaluation stage.

27 May 2020

Faulty ApoE4 gene increases risk for Alzheimer’s and for COVID-19

It has not been clear whether dementia worsens the infection or if it has resulted from the patient's old age and the severity of care home outbreaks. Now, a new study sheds light on the reason why people with dementia are at a high risk of developing severe disease caused by the coronavirus disease.

27 May 2020

Canadian study of COVID-19 patients admitted to ICUs finds lower overall mortality

A Canadian case series of all patients with COVID-19 admitted to six intensive care units (ICUs) in Metro Vancouver found patient outcomes were substantially better than reported in other jurisdictions. The paper is published in CMAJ.

27 May 2020