Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Study evaluates the effectiveness of interferon beta 1b in COVID-19 pneumonia

As the world struggles to overcome the current COVID-19 pandemic with non-pharmacological interventions, in the absence of an effective drug or vaccine, existing immunomodulators are being repurposed. A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020 shows no clinical benefit to the use of one such drug, called interferon beta 1b (IFN beta1b).

22 May 2020

Airway and Celonic collaborate to produce AT-100 as therapeutic candidate against COVID-19

Airway Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of biologics to break the cycle of injury and inflammation for patients with respiratory and inflammatory diseases, and Celonic Group, a premium biopharmaceutical CDMO specialized in the development and production of Advance Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) and mammalian cell line-expressed biotherapeutics, today announced a collaboration to produce the novel human recombinant protein AT-100 (rhSP-D) as a therapeutic candidate against COVID-19.

21 May 2020

Excessive blood clotting and stroke in COVID-19 patients

The coronavirus disease COVID-19 is causing excessive blood clotting and stroke in young and healthy people, a new study has found.

21 May 2020

Study presents early data on SARS‐CoV ‐2 testing, outcomes at Australian children’s hospital

In the first 30 days since seeing their first patient, the number of children testing positive to COVID-19 at an Australian tertiary pediatric hospital has been low and none who contracted the virus required in-hospital treatment, according to a new study.

21 May 2020

COVID-19 may damage the central nervous system

Researchers at University Hospital Düsseldorf, Germany, have provided important insights into the potential impact that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) could have on the central nervous system.

21 May 2020

COVID-19 in farmed Mink in the Netherlands

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in May 2020 reports the development of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in farmed mink in two locations in the Netherlands.

21 May 2020

Analysis: Get ready for the vaccine — they’re never simple

If there is a silver lining to the flawed U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic, it is this: The relatively high number of new cases being diagnosed daily — upward of 20,000 — will make it easier to test new vaccines.

21 May 2020

Saliva testing allows quick, accurate and non-invasive SARS-CoV-2 detection

Saliva is one of the ways people can transmit the novel coronavirus to others, but it may also help combat coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Scientists are now looking into using saliva to test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent for COVID-19 disease.

20 May 2020

Experts urge further improvements in COVID-19 testing to increase speed and availability

In an important, comprehensive, and timely review, an expert team from the University of California Berkeley details the methodologies used in nucleic acid-based tests for detecting the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

20 May 2020

Australia and South Korea: Research compares COVID-19 fatality rates

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in May 2020 compares the fatality rates of two countries with reliable testing and reporting profiles, which had COVID-19 outbreaks at almost the same time, to arrive at a reliable estimate of fatality hazard rates.

20 May 2020

FDA approves IND application by Octapharma USA for severe COVID-19 patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the investigational new drug (IND) application submitted by Octapharma USA for a phase three clinical trial on the efficacy and safety of Octagam 10% [Immune Globulin Intravenous (Human)] therapy in COVID-19 patients with severe disease progression.

20 May 2020

Main receptors used by SARS-CoV-2 for cell entry are absent in the human placenta

Although severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is unlikely to infect human placenta through the canonical cell entry mediators, Wayne State University researchers showed that other interacting proteins may still play an important role during the viral infection. The study is currently available on the preprint server bioRxiv.

20 May 2020

Certain corticosteroid could improve severe COVID-19, say researchers

Researchers at Wayne State University and Henry Ford Health System in Michigan have conducted a study indicating that the corticosteroid methylprednisolone could improve outcomes among patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

20 May 2020

Scientists use machine learning methods to estimate COVID-19's seasonal cycle

One of the many unanswered scientific questions about COVID-19 is whether it is seasonal like the flu - waning in warm summer months then resurging in the fall and winter.

20 May 2020

Dana-Farber launches clinical test of blood cancer drug in COVID-19 patients

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have launched a clinical test of a blood cancer drug in patients infected with the COVID-19 virus. T

20 May 2020

Doctoral candidate receives NIH fellowship to study how adenovirus affects heart function

A dose of adenovirus hits most people like a common cold - a cough, a fever, maybe a sore throat. But for an unfortunate few, the usually benign bug hacks the heart's cellular electrical communication system and sometimes proves fatal.

20 May 2020

Current antibody tests are good enough to inform decisions about public health, say experts

While it's too soon to use COVID-19 antibody testing to issue "immunity passports", antibody tests that are available today are good enough to inform decisions about public health and relaxing social distancing interventions, says an international group of infectious disease and public health experts in Science Immunology today.

20 May 2020

Methodologies to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2

20 May 2020

Retrofitted VW diesel engines emit less harmful nitrogen oxides

The VW diesel scandal began with a bang on September 18, 2015. On exactly the opening day of the Frankfurt International Motor Show (IAA), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its "Notice of Violation": VW diesel engines with 1.6 and 2.0 liters displacement (type code EA 189) contained illegal software designed to manipulate emissions.

20 May 2020

Aerosol transmission through new vs. reused N95 masks

The world is grappling with the worst pandemic in over 100 years. Caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel coronavirus which emerged in China in December 2019 but has now spread across the globe. With a rapid rate of transmission, SARS-CoV-2 has now affected over 4.88 million people and resulted in over 322,000 deaths.

19 May 2020