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Immune system's oldest branches may underpin COVID severity

One of the immune system's oldest branches, called complement, may be influencing the severity of COVID disease, according to a new study from researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

3 Aug 2020

Hospital merger in Washington state stokes fears about Catholic limits on care

The proposed merger of a well-regarded secular hospital system and a larger Roman Catholic system in Washington state has triggered new alarms about religious restrictions on patients' access to care.

3 Aug 2020

American baby boomers have lower cognition scores than earlier generations

In a reversal of trends, American baby boomers scored lower on a test of cognitive functioning than did members of previous generations, according to a new nationwide study.

3 Aug 2020

Smartphone alert can aid laypersons in opioid overdose reversal

Without timely reversal, opioid overdose causes respiratory depression that may deteriorate into apnea, leading to brain injury and even death.

3 Aug 2020

What seniors can expect as their new normal in a post-vaccine world

Imagine this scenario, perhaps a year or two in the future: An effective COVID-19 vaccine is routinely available and the world is moving forward. Life, however, will likely never be the same — particularly for people over 60.

3 Aug 2020

Screening for pancreatic cancer using artificial intelligence

Dr. Ananya Malhotra speaks to News-Medical about her research into how pancreatic cancer prognosis could be improved by using artificial intelligence.

3 Aug 2020

Meningitis case at Children's National Hospital raises concerns about antibiotic resistance

A recent meningitis case at Children's National Hospital raises serious concerns about antibiotic resistance in the common bacterium that caused it, researchers from the hospital write in a case report.

3 Aug 2020

Stabilized prefusion spike vaccine candidate induces powerful immune response

A new research paper by scientists at Janssen Vaccines & Prevention BV, in the Netherlands and published on the preprint server bioRxiv* is based on the assumption that an effective vaccine against these infections will induce neutralizing antibodies and an immune response favoring Th1 immunity.

3 Aug 2020

Dexamethasone should be a standard drug in severe COVID-19

Many scientists have explored the use of new as well as already approved drugs for this condition, and one of the very few promising leads is dexamethasone. Dexamethasone is a corticosteroid, which has been reported in some earlier studies to reduce mortality in these patients by 18% and 36% in COVID-19 patients who are on oxygen and ventilators, respectively.

3 Aug 2020

Americans are adjusting their use of social media platforms amid COVID-19 pandemic

As national tensions rise, a new national survey of 2,000 people commissioned by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center finds more Americans are adjusting how they use social media platforms.

3 Aug 2020

SARS-CoV-2 spike protein recognized by innate immune receptors in a glycan-dependent way

The spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) depends on its ability to infect new host cells following its replication and release from infected cells. This pivots on its ability to bind to cell surface receptors like the ACE2 enzyme.

3 Aug 2020

Severe fatigue common in COVID-19, independent of disease severity

Patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection often complain of fatigue, but now a new study shows that it also causes severe and frequent fatigue in those who recover after mild illness too.

2 Aug 2020

The race to a coronavirus vaccine

As the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases skyrocket to a staggering 18 million, the race to attain vaccine approval is on. More than a hundred candidate vaccines are being developed and tested to prevent infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Now, many vaccine candidates are undergoing human stage 2 and 3 trials to prove their efficacy and safety.

2 Aug 2020

Long stretches of repeating DNA associated with susceptibility to systemic sclerosis

Researchers from the University of Tsukuba show that long stretches of repeat DNA sequences in the gene FLI1 are associated with susceptibility to systemic sclerosis.

2 Aug 2020

Researchers identify differences in clinical features of non-obese patients with NAFLD

Researchers from the University of Tsukuba identify differences in the clinical features of non-obese patients with non-alcoholic fatter liver disease based on their sex and body mass index.

2 Aug 2020

Young women with polycystic ovary syndrome more likely to get heart disease

Women in their 30s and 40s with a common condition affecting how the ovaries work are more likely to get heart disease. That's the finding of a study published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology.

2 Aug 2020

There could be 7 million unplanned pregnancies because of COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic has rippled across the globe, infecting nearly 18 million individuals worldwide to date. Though the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) affects people from all walks of life, women and girls may experience devastating effects of the outbreak.

2 Aug 2020

School children unlikely to play a significant role in COVID-19 spread, says Finnish study

A study conducted by researchers in Finland suggests that children who are exposed to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in schools are unlikely to transmit the virus further and play any significant role in the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

2 Aug 2020

Pre-COVID-19 coronavirus antibodies fail to neutralize SARS-CoV-2

Researchers in Austria have shown that antibodies with potent neutralizing activity against a well-established seasonal coronavirus had no neutralizing activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

2 Aug 2020

New bivalent vaccine delivers robust cell-mediated and humoral immunity against SARS-CoV-2

In a groundbreaking bioRxiv study, US researchers demonstrate the capability of next-generation bivalent human adenovirus serotype 5 (hAd5) vaccine for inducing both cellular and humoral immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – using both an S protein sequence optimized for cell surface expression and a conserved nucleocapsid antigen designed to be transported to the endosomal subcellular compartment.

2 Aug 2020