Disease/Infection News

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A global review of COVID-19 impact on cancer treatment and research

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted virtually every aspect of cancer care and research- from introducing new risks for cancer patients to disrupting the delivery of cancer treatment and the continuity of cancer research, a review of scientific literature shows.

7 Oct 2020

Study shows COVID-19 vulnerability increases exponentially with age

Aging-US recently published "From Causes of Aging to Death from COVID-19" by Blagosklonny et al. which reported that COVID-19 is not deadly early in life, but mortality increases exponentially with age - which is the strongest predictor of mortality.

7 Oct 2020

"Brain fog" after COVID -19 recovery may indicate post-traumatic stress disorder

A new report suggests that lingering "brain fog" and other neurological symptoms after COVID-19 recovery may be due to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an effect observed in past human coronavirus outbreaks such as SARS and MERS.

7 Oct 2020

Many hospitalized COVID-19 patients exhibit neurological symptoms, study finds

Nearly a third of hospitalized COVID-19 patients experienced some type of altered mental state and function, ranging from delirium to confusion, and in some cases, unresponsiveness, a new study has found.

7 Oct 2020

CDC recognizes airborne transmission of COVID-19

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), continues to ravage across the globe, with the number of confirmed cases topping 35.65 million.

7 Oct 2020

Do air purifiers reduce SARS‐CoV‐2 transmission?

Researchers recently discussed their experiments to test the efficiency and practicality of using mobile air purifiers in school classrooms to reduce airborne transmission risk of SARS-COV-2 in a preprint paper published on medRxiv.

6 Oct 2020

New clinical report on brain changes in deceased COVID-19 patients

German researchers published a report on a series of cases on post mortem findings of COVID-19 patients who succumbed to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection along with neurological complications. Their study titled “Neuropathology of patients with COVID-19 in Germany: a post-mortem case series” is published in the latest issue of The Lancet Neurology.

6 Oct 2020

Binge drinking is increasing, especially in women during COVID-19

Researchers last week released their work studying the pattern of alcohol use and its consequences on Americans during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

6 Oct 2020

Proteolytic activation of the SARS-CoV-2 spike S1/S2 site

In a recent paper published on the bioRxiv preprint server, Cornell University researchers study the proteolytic activation of the SARS-CoV-2 spike sites, re-evaluating the furin cleavage.

6 Oct 2020

Study: Brazil's community health workers could play a key role in combating COVID-19

Brazil has more than 286,000 community health workers integrated into the national primary healthcare program. These professionals form a broad network serving 75% of the population, especially low-income families who lack medical insurance and are the most adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

6 Oct 2020

Study provides greater detail about the characteristics of COVID-19 patients

Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were more likely male, younger, and, in both the US and Spain, had fewer comorbidities and lower medication use than hospitalized influenza patients according to a recent study published by the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics community.

6 Oct 2020

Using virus-like particles to study SARS-CoV-2 assembly, budding, and entry

In a recent preprint paper published on the bioRxiv server, researchers from the Purdue Institute of Inflammation, Immunology, and Infectious Disease, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, discuss their efforts to assess the 4 SARS-CoV-2 structural proteins for their ability to produce VLPs from human cells to create a competent system for BSL-2 studies of SARS-CoV-2.

6 Oct 2020

Researchers examine COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on physical activity, sedentary behavior

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, most universities across the United States transitioned from face-to-face classes to remote learning, closed campuses and sent students home this past spring.

6 Oct 2020

Self-isolation on arrival at airports dramatically improves detection of disease importation

Researchers from Public Health England have conducted a study showing that screening and quarantining travelers on arrival at airports significantly reduces the risk of disease importation during international outbreaks, compared with screening alone.

6 Oct 2020

Liquid gel in COVID patients' lungs could be the key to new effective therapies

In some patients who died with severe COVID-19 and respiratory failure, a jelly was formed in the lungs. Researchers have now established what the active agent in the jelly is and thanks to that, this new discovery can now be the key to new effective therapies.

6 Oct 2020

Low lymphocyte count before COVID-19 heightens death risk

Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center have conducted a study suggesting that having a low white blood cell count (lymphocytopenia) prior to exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may be associated with an increased risk of dying from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

6 Oct 2020

Antigen testing detects SARS-CoV-2 better than PCR

A team of scientists from the United States demonstrates that rapid antigen tests for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are more effective in determining the actual infection status in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) than real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR)-based tests.

6 Oct 2020

Study reveals potential utility of artemisinin-based treatments against SARS-CoV-2

In a recent, methodologically robust bioRXiv preprint paper, researchers from Germany, Denmark and Hong Kong report in vitro efficacy of extracts from the sweet wormwood plant (Artemisia annua), but also artemisinin, artesunate and artemether derivatives against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

6 Oct 2020

New coalition across California to address COVID-19's impact on communities at risk

A coalition of 11 academic institutions and their community partners across California has received a $4.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for a statewide community-engaged approach to addressing COVID-19 among populations that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

6 Oct 2020

'Dipstick' technology could be used for mobile and accurate COVID-19 testing

Technology that helps to quickly extract and analyze genetic material could be used for cheap, accurate and mobile COVID-19 testing, including at airports and remote testing centres.

6 Oct 2020