Covid-19 Sentry

Contents

• From Preprints
• From Clinical Trials
• From PubMed
• From Patent Search

From Preprints

• Social support improves nurses resilience: a cross-sectional study in Greece -

  Background: Since nursing job is perceived as personally and professionally demanding, internal resources such as resilience and coping skills are essential to improve nurses health and wellbeing and therefore work productivity and quality of patient care. Objective: To assess the effect of social support on nurses resilience. Moreover, we investigated the impact of demographic characteristics of nurses on their resilience. Methods: We conducted an on-line cross-sectional study in Greece. Data were collected during October 2022. We used the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support to measure social support, and the Brief Resilience Scale to measure resilience. We measured the following demographic characteristics of nurses: gender, age, self-perceived health status, COVID-19 diagnosis, MSc/PhD diploma, and clinical experience. Results: Study population included 963 nurses with a mean age of 37.9 years. Nurses experienced moderate levels of resilience and high levels of social support. Multivariable linear regression analysis identified that increased significant others support and increased friends support were associated with increased resilience. Moreover, we found a positive relationship between age and resilience. Also, nurses with good/very good health had higher levels of resilience compared to nurses with very poor/poor/moderate health. Finally, resilience was higher among nurses with MSc/PhD diploma. Conclusions: We found a positive relationship between social support and resilience among nurses. Understanding of factors that influence nurses resilience can add invaluable knowledge to develop and establish tailored programs. Peer support is essential to improve nurses resilience and promote patient healthcare.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Social support improves nurses resilience: a cross-sectional study in Greece
• Cross sectional study of knowledge, attitude and practice among general population towards COVID19 vaccines in Duhok province, Kurdistan region of Iraq -

  Abstract Background: Vaccines are immunization against diseases and leads to saving millions of lives every year. However, after the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, little information is available on the public knowledge and attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccines in Kurdistan-Iraq. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude and practice toward the COVID-19 vaccines among general population at Duhok province, Kurdistan region, Iraq. Methods: The cross-sectional study was done between November 1st ,2022 and march 1st, 2023 at Duhok province, Kurdistan region, Iraq including Duhok City, Zakho, Semel and surrounding area toward COVID-19 vaccines. It included 759 randomly selected participants answering a structured questionnaire who were interviewed face-to-face by the authors. The participants ages ranged from 18 to 75 years. The survey questionnaire was divided into three parts, the first part was sociodemographic characteristics. The second part was composed of eight questions of knowledge regarding the COVID-19 vaccine and third part was 6 statements about Attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines. Findings: The mean age of the respondents was 32.95 years and more than half of them 52.3% were males. About 55% of the respondents reported that they had infected with COVID-19. About 25.3% of the subjects were employed and only 18.3% had chronic diseases. Around 55% of the participants reported that they have previously infected with COVID-19. The majority of the participants 99.60% had heard of COVID-19 vaccine, almost 68% of the participants trusted COVID-19 vaccine and reported that the vaccine is safe. Almost three-quarters 74.04% of the participants were strongly agreed that it is important to get a vaccine to protect the people from COVID-19. According to the survey results, a significant proportion of the participants, specifically 62.58%, believed that COVID-19 vaccines offer protection against the disease. It was notable that a high percentage of the participants, approximately 86.17%, were aware of the potential side effects associated with the vaccine. Moreover, an overwhelming majority of the participants, nearly 96.31%, were knowledgeable that the vaccination process would require two or more doses. Conclusions: The history of chronic disease, source of vaccine knowledge, education level, occupation, and employment states were factors that affected the willingness to accept the vaccine. The most trusted sources of information on COVID-19 vaccines were social media. Therefore, the willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine can be supported by utilizing social media and television to spread awareness about the vaccine safety and efficacy.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Cross sectional study of knowledge, attitude and practice among general population towards COVID19 vaccines in Duhok province, Kurdistan region of Iraq
• Human Surfactant Protein A Alleviates SARS-CoV-2 Infectivity in Human Lung Epithelial Cells -
  SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infects human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2)-expressing lung epithelial cells through its spike (S) protein. The S protein is highly glycosylated and could be a target for lectins. Surfactant protein A (SP-A) is a collagen-containing C-type lectin, expressed by mucosal epithelial cells and mediates its antiviral activities by binding to viral glycoproteins. This study examined the mechanistic role of human SP-A in SARS-CoV-2 infectivity. The interactions between human SP-A and SARS-CoV-2 S protein and hACE2 receptor, and SP-A level in COVID-19 patients were assessed by ELISA. The effect of SP-A on SARS-CoV-2 infectivity was analyzed by infecting human lung epithelial cells (A549-ACE2) with pseudoviral particles and infectious SARS-CoV-2 (Delta variant) pre-incubated with SP-A. Virus binding, entry, and infectivity were assessed by RT-qPCR, immunoblotting, and plaque assay. The results showed that human SP-A can bind SARS-CoV-2 S protein/RBD and hACE2 in a dose-dependent manner (p<0.01). Human SP-A inhibited virus binding and entry, and reduce viral load in lung epithelial cells, evidenced by the dose-dependent decrease in viral RNA, nucleocapsid protein, and titer (p<0.01). Increased SP-A level was observed in the saliva of COVID-19 patients compared to healthy controls (p<0.05), but severe COVID-19 patients had relatively lower SP-A levels than moderate COVID-19 patients (p<0.05). Therefore, SP-A plays an important role in mucosal innate immunity against SARS-CoV-2 infectivity by directly binding to the S protein and inhibiting its infectivity in host cells. SP-A level in the saliva of COVID-19 patients might serve as a biomarker for COVID-19 severity.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Human Surfactant Protein A Alleviates SARS-CoV-2 Infectivity in Human Lung Epithelial Cells
• A broadly protective CHO cell expressed recombinant spike protein subunit based vaccine (IMT-CVAX) against SARS-CoV-2 -
  Protective immunity induced by COVID-19 vaccines is mediated mainly by spike (S) protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Here, we report the development of a recombinant prefusion stabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-subunit-based COVID-19 vaccine produced in the mammalian cell line. The gene encoding ectodomain (ECD) of the spike protein was engineered and cloned into Freedom pCHO 1.0, a mammalian expression vector, and subsequently expressed in the Chinese Hamster Ovary suspension cell line (CHO-S).The recombinant S protein ectodomain (hereafter referred to as IMT-CVAX) was purified using a combination of tangential flow filtration and liquid chromatography. Biochemical and biophysical characterization of IMT-CVAX was done to ensure its vital quality attributes. Intramuscular immunization of mice with two doses of adjuvanted IMT-CVAX elicited a strong anti-Spike IgG response.In pseudovirus-based assays, IMT-CVAX immune mice sera exhibited a broad-spectrum neutralization of several SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VoCs). Golden Syrian Hamster immunized with IMT-CVAX provided excellent protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection, and, hamster immune sera neutralized the live SARS-CoV-2 virus.The adjuvanted IMT-CVAX induced robust Tfh-cells response and germinal center (GC) reaction in human ACE2 receptor-expressing transgenic mice. The findings of this study may pave the way for developing next-generation protein subunit-based vaccines to combat the existing SARS-CoV-2 and its emerging VoCs. The IMT-CVAX is produced using a scalable process and can be used for large-scale vaccine production in an industrial setup.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: A broadly protective CHO cell expressed recombinant spike protein subunit based vaccine (IMT-CVAX) against SARS-CoV-2
• nanoCLAMP potently neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 and protects K18-hACE2 mice from infection -
  Intranasal treatments, combined with vaccination, has the potential to slow mutational evolution of virusues by reducing transmission and replication. Here we illustrate the development of a SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD) nanoCLAMP and demonstrate its potential as an intranasally administered therapeutic. A multi-epitope nanoCLAMP was made by fusing a pM affinity single-domain nanoCLAMP (P2710) to alternate epitope binding nanoCLAMP, P2609. The resulting multimerised nanoCLAMP P2712 had sub-pM affinity for the Wuhan and South African (B.1.351) RBD (KD < 1 pM ), and decreasing affinity for the Delta (B.1.617.2) and Omicron (B.1.1.529) variants (86 pM and 19.7 nM, respectively). P2712 potently inhibited ACE2:RBD interaction, suggesting its utility as a therapeutic. With an IC50 = 0.4 {+/-} 0.1 nM obtained from neutralization experiments using pseudoviral particles as well as patient cultured SARS-CoV-2 samples, nanoCLAMP P2712 protected K18-hACE2 mice from SARS-CoV-2 infection, reduced viral loads in the lungs and brains, and reduced associated upregulation of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Together, our findings warrant further investigation into the development of nanoCLAMPs as effective intranasally delivered COVID19 therapeutics.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: nanoCLAMP potently neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 and protects K18-hACE2 mice from infection
• Community structure and temporal dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 epistatic network allows for early detection of emerging variants with altered phenotypes -
  The rise of viral variants with altered phenotypes presents a significant public health challenge. In particular, the successive waves of COVID-19 have been driven by emerging variants of interest (VOIs) and variants of concern (VOCs), which are linked to modifications in phenotypic traits such as transmissibility, antibody resistance, and immune escape. Consequently, devising effective strategies to forecast emerging viral variants is critical for managing present and future epidemics. Although current evolutionary prediction tools mainly concentrate on single amino acid variants (SAVs) or isolated genomic changes, the observed history of VOCs and the extensive epistatic interactions within the SARS-CoV-2 genome suggest that predicting viral haplotypes, rather than individual mutations, is vital for efficient genomic surveillance. However, haplotype prediction is significantly more challenging problem, which precludes the use of traditional AI and Machine Learning approaches utilized in most mutation-based studies. This study demonstrates that by examining the community structure of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein epistatic networks, it is feasible to efficiently detect or predict emerging haplotypes with altered transmissibility. These haplotypes can be linked to dense network communities, which become discernible significantly earlier than their associated viral variants reach noticeable prevalence levels. From these insights, we developed HELEN (Heralding Emerging Lineages in Epistatic Networks), a computational framework that identifies densely epistatically connected communities of SAV alleles and merges them into haplotypes using a combination of statistical inference, population genetics, and discrete optimization techniques. HELEN was validated by accurately identifying known SARS-CoV-2 VOCs and VOIs up to 10-12 months before they reached perceptible prevalence and were designated by the WHO. For example, our approach suggests that the spread of the Omicron haplotype or a closely related genomic variant could have been foreseen as early as the start of 2021, almost a year before its WHO designation. Moreover, HELEN offers greater scalability than phylogenetic lineage tracing methods, allowing for the analysis of millions of available SARS-CoV-2 genomes. Besides SARS-CoV-2, our methodology can be employed to detect emerging and circulating strains of any highly mutable pathogen with adequate genomic surveillance data.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Community structure and temporal dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 epistatic network allows for early detection of emerging variants with altered phenotypes
• Evaluating technology engagement in the time of COVID-19: the Technology Engagement Scale -
  Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) researchers and communication scholars have developed a broad range of theories and instruments to evaluate the concept of user engagement. However, so far, the proposed instruments are not able to fully capture the processual nature of engaging experiences with technological devices, while focusing instead on state variables or dispositional factors. Therefore, this study aimed at describing and psychometrically validating a novel instrument to measure the dynamics of the engagement with technology, namely the Technology Engagement Scale (TES). Data were collected on a representative sample of 2021 participants in Italy. Results from both the confirmatory analysis and the Rasch model suggested the mono-dimensionality of the 5-item TES. Moreover, empirical ordinal alpha indicated a very good internal consistency. Findings provide also solid evidence for the convergent validity of the proposed instrument. Finally, it emerged that TES levels were able to predict the frequency of online activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Globally, these findings suggest that the TES could be considered a reliable and valid tool, able to evaluate the complex process of the engagement with technology in a simple, quick, and easy-to-administer manner.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Evaluating technology engagement in the time of COVID-19: the Technology Engagement Scale
• Potential for bias in (sero)prevalence estimates -

  Objectives: The COVID-19 has led to many studies of seroprevalence. A number of methods exist in the statistical literature to correctly estimate disease prevalence in the presence of diagnostic test misclassification, but these methods seem to be less known and not routinely used in the public health literature. We aimed to show how widespread the problem is in recent publications, and to quantify the magnitude of bias introduced when correct methods are not used. Methods: We examined a sample of recent literature to determine how often public health researcher did not account for test performance in estimates of seroprevalence. Using straightforward calculations, we estimated the amount of bias introduced when reporting the proportion of positive test results instead of using sensitivity and specificity to estimate disease prevalence. Results: Of the seroprevalence studies sampled, 87% failed to account for sensitivity and specificity. Expected bias is often more than is desired in practice, ranging from 1% to 10%. Conclusions: Researchers conducting studies of prevalence should correctly account for test sensitivity and specificity in their statistical analysis.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Potential for bias in (sero)prevalence estimates
• A Comparison of the Infant Gut Microbiome Before vs. After the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic -
  The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting public health directives led to many changes in families’ social and material environments. Prior research suggests that these changes are likely to impact composition of the gut microbiome, particularly during early childhood when the gut microbiome is developing most rapidly. Importantly, disruption to the gut microbiome during this sensitive period can have potentially long-lasting impacts on health and development. In the current study, we compare gut microbiome composition among a socioeconomically and racially diverse group of 12-month old infants living in New York City who provided stool samples before the pandemic (N=34) to a group who provided samples during the first 9-months of the pandemic (March-December 2020; N=20). We found that infants sampled during the pandemic had lower alpha diversity of the microbiome, higher abundance of Lactobacillaceae, and lower abundance of Pasteurellaceae and Haemophilus. Exploratory analyses suggest that gut microbiome changes due to the pandemic occurred relatively quickly after the start of the pandemic and were sustained. Our results provide evidence that pandemic-related environmental disruptions had an impact on community-level taxonomic diversity of the developing gut microbiome, as well as abundance of specific members of the gut bacterial community.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: A Comparison of the Infant Gut Microbiome Before vs. After the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Prioritizing Lifestyle Factors for Effective Emotion Regulation: A Daily Study on First-Year College Students’ Well-Being During COVID-19 -
  The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted emerging adult first-year college students’ daily lives and well-being. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) recognizes that effective and adaptive emotion regulation skills can be important for this vulnerable population’s well-being, who are going through a transitioning phase of development in challenging times. An ecological momentary assessment study collected 1,796 data points from 76 first-year college students’ daily usage of emotion regulation skills and momentary experiences of well-being (PERMA; Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationship, Meaning, Accomplishment) during COVID-19 in Spring 2020. Participants were 18 to 20 years of age, 71% female, 24% male, 4% non-binary, 1% preferred not to answer, 46% White, 36% Asian or Pacific Islander, 14% Hispanic or Latinx, 13% Black or African American, 13% mixed race, 1% Native American or Eskimo Aleut, and 4% did not specify their race/ethnicity. Results from multilevel models on intensive longitudinal data revealed that specific emotion regulation skills (accumulating positives, building mastery, coping ahead) consistently predict mPERMA even when controlling for dispositional well-being. Moreover, on days of sufficient sleep hours reported, students reported higher well-being levels; on days with more interaction with other people, students were more likely to engage in emotion regulation skill behaviors; and on weekends, students were less likely to engage in emotion regulation behaviors (but not avoid substances like alcohol). Findings add to the literature on momentary well-being and emotion regulation for the population of early adult first-year college students and the COVID-19 context.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Prioritizing Lifestyle Factors for Effective Emotion Regulation: A Daily Study on First-Year College Students’ Well-Being During COVID-19
• Exploratory Study to Characterise the Individual Types of Health Literacy and Beliefs and Their Associations with Infection Prevention Behaviours amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan: A Longitudinal Study -

  Background. During a global infectious disease pandemic such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), individuals′ infection prevention/risk-taking behaviours are likely to differ depending on their health literacy and beliefs regarding the disease. To effectively promote infection prevention behaviours, it is necessary to enable information dissemination and risk communication that consider individuals′ health literacy and beliefs. In this study, we exploratorily characterised segments based on individual health literacy and beliefs regarding COVID-19 among the Japanese during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, and investigated whether infection prevention/risk-taking behaviours and fear of COVID-19 differed among these segments. Methods. In this study, we conducted two web-based longitudinal surveys in Japan (PHASE 1, 1–30 November 2020, 6,000 participants; PHASE 2, 1–31 December 2020, 3,800 participants). We characterised segments of the target population using cluster analysis on health literacy and beliefs regarding COVID-19 obtained in PHASE 1. We further investigated the associations between the clusters and infection prevention/risk-taking behaviours and fear of COVID-19, obtained from PHASE 2. Results. Five clusters were identified: ′Calm/hoax denial′, ′Hoax affinity/threat denial′, ′Minority/indifference′, ′Over vigilance′, and ′Optimism′. There were significant differences in infection prevention/risk-taking behaviours and fear of COVID-19 among the five clusters. The belief in susceptibility to infection, rather than affinity for hoaxes and conspiracy theories, was coherently associated with infection prevention/risk-taking behaviours and fear of infection across clusters. This study provides foundational knowledge for creating segment-specific public messages and developing interactive risk communication to encourage infection prevention behaviours.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Exploratory Study to Characterise the Individual Types of Health Literacy and Beliefs and Their Associations with Infection Prevention Behaviours amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan: A Longitudinal Study
• Adolescents’ future orientation and anticipatory emotion regulation in daily life during the COVID-19 pandemic: An experience sampling study -
  The COVID-19 pandemic posed a challenge for young people’s positive future orientation and mental health. To understand the role of daily-life future orientation in mental health during the pandemic, we used the Experience Sampling Method to investigate adolescents’ (aged 13 – 21) daily life future orientation and anticipatory emotion regulation in relation to psychopathology symptoms in 2020 (N = 136) and 2021 (N = 53). Adolescents generally perceived immediate future events more positively than negatively throughout the pandemic, however, differences in future orientation between phases of the pandemic were also observed. Higher psychopathology symptom levels were associated with looking forward to future events less and dreading them more early in the pandemic, and with perceiving immediate future events as less positive in a later phase of the pandemic. Furthermore, expected intensity and importance of immediate future events were related to anticipatory emotion regulation in daily life during the pandemic. The results suggest that clinical interventions to target future orientation during a crisis could be beneficial in supporting and improving young people’s mental health.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Adolescents’ future orientation and anticipatory emotion regulation in daily life during the COVID-19 pandemic: An experience sampling study
• Assessment of Pragmatic Abilities and Cognitive Substrates (APACS) Brief Remote: a novel tool for the rapid and tele-evaluation of pragmatic skills in Italian -
  Healthcare services require rapid assessment tools, as well as the possibility of using them flexibly in different contexts, such as those experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, that favor remote interaction over traditional care. These needs become especially challenging when assessing language and communication skills, for which few tools exist. This work aimed to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a novel test for the rapid and tele-assessment of pragmatic skills in Italian-speaking individuals, including an alternate form to allow for monitoring and follow-up. Inspired by Gricean pragmatics and modelled after the already validated Assessment of Pragmatic Abilities and Cognitive Substrates (APACS) in-person test, the new APACS Brief Remote test includes 18 original items assessing discourse and non-literal language understanding in expressive and receptive modalities. The test lasts approximately 10 minutes and is suited for video-conference administration. Results from a sample of 141 healthy participants indicate that both reliability (internal consistency, test-retest, and inter-rater) and validity (measured via APACS and verbal and cognitive tests) of the APACS Brief Remote are adequate. The alternate form of the test can be considered as equivalent. Among demographic variables, the analysis highlighted especially the role of age. Perceived experience with the videoconference administration was positive, supporting the feasibility of APACS Brief Remote across ages and educational levels. The APACS Brief Remote represents a useful tool to promote evidence-based tele-assessment practices in the domain of pragmatics, for instance for online follow-up assessment, in a vast range of clinical conditions that might cause communicative difficulties.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Assessment of Pragmatic Abilities and Cognitive Substrates (APACS) Brief Remote: a novel tool for the rapid and tele-evaluation of pragmatic skills in Italian
• Knowledge of COVID-19 Symptoms, Transmission, and Prevention: Evidence from Health and Demographic Surveillance in Southern Mozambique -

  Background: Over 230,000 COVID-19 cases and over 2,200 deaths have been reported in Mozambique though March 2023. Understanding community members9 knowledge and perception of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and prevention is essential for directing public health interventions to reduce disease spread and improve vaccination coverage. Here, we aimed to describe knowledge of COVID-19 transmission, prevention, and symptoms among community residents in Mozambique. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey among 33,087 of 40,636 households (81.4%) in a Health and Demographic Surveillance System in Manhica, Mozambique, at the tail end of the Delta variant wave in September 2021 to the peak of Omicron cases in January 2022. Principal components analysis was used to create scores representing knowledge of COVID-19 symptoms, transmission, and prevention. Multiple imputation and quasi-Poisson regression were used to examine associations between demographic characteristics and sources of COVID-19 information, and knowledge of COVID-19 symptoms, transmission, and prevention. We examined whether sources of COVID-19 information mediated the relationship between educational attainment and knowledge of symptoms, transmission, and prevention. Results: Across this rural community, 98.2%, 97.0%, and 85.1% of household respondents reported knowing how COVID-19 could be prevented, that SARS-CoV-2 can cause disease, and how SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted, respectively. Most recognized symptoms were cough (51.2%), headaches (44.9%), and fever (44.5%). Most cited transmission mechanisms were droplets (50.5%) or aerosol (<5 micrometer diameter) (46.9%) from an infected person. Most cited prevention measures were handwashing (91.9%) and mask-wearing (91.8%). Characteristics associated with greater knowledge of symptoms, transmission, and prevention included having at least primary education, older age, employment, higher wealth, and Christian religion. Respondents who had had COVID-19 symptoms were also more likely to have knowledge of symptoms, transmission, and prevention. Gathering information from TV, WhatsApp, radio, and hospital mediated the relationship between educational attainment and knowledge scores. Conclusions: Community public health measures to reduce infectious disease transmission are contingent upon perceptions of risk and knowledge. These findings support the need for outreach and for community-engaged messaging to promote prevention measures, particularly among people with low education.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Knowledge of COVID-19 Symptoms, Transmission, and Prevention: Evidence from Health and Demographic Surveillance in Southern Mozambique
• Blood biomarkers-defined subgroups show heterogeneity in post-acute COVID-19 syndrome: a rationale for precision medicine. -

  Acute COVID-19 can cause a post-infectious syndrome in a significant percentage of patients, with multifacted and long lasting symptoms. We hypothesized that this Post-Acute COVID syndrome (PASC) could result from various underlying causes, which may compromise the demonstration of efficacy for treatments evaluated on cohorts of heterogeneous patients. To assess the feasibility of stratifying or characterizing subgroups of post-COVID-19 patients consistent with different indications in a precision medicine perspective, we tested serum biomarkers in a pilot cross-sectional study of patients with neuro-cognitive symptoms from the Northwestern University post-COVID-19 clinic (Chicago,USA). Patient health status was evaluated with the use of standardized PROMIS questionnaires and underwent validated cognitive tests with the NIH Toolbox. Serum biomarkers were chosen as proteins known to be involved in the pathogenic features of a neuro-inflammatory disease, i.e., multiple sclerosis, with a final selection of the most discriminant ones. A multi-isotypes serology against SARS-CoV-2 spike and nucleocapsid antigens was performed to allow detailed analyses of the humoral immune status. Despite the limited numbers of this feasibility study, results showed that clinical data could not differentiate PASC patients with persisting neuro-cognitive impairment, while three major PASC subgroups were identified with serum biomarkers according to the presence or absence of the HERV-W ENV soluble protein combined with neurofilaments light chains and, to a lesser extent, with elevated levels of IL-6. SARS-CoV-2 serological results in PASC compared to healthy controls also revealed a significant increase of anti-Spike and/or Nucleocapsid IgM, IgA and, unexpectedly, IgE. For IgG, a significant difference was observed with Nucleocapsid only since anti-Spike IgG titers were normally elevated in vaccinated controls. This multi-Ig isotypes serology may provide additional information on the infectious and immunological status of individual patients and should be considered in face of a potential viral persistence in some individuals. Altogether the results show the feasibility of using serum biomarkers to discriminate relevant subgroups or individual patients for precision medicine indications in post-COVID syndromes. This pilot study paves the way to further exploring biological assays for the definition of subtypes of PASC, also called long COVID, useful for the choice of relevant therapeutic strategies.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Blood biomarkers-defined subgroups show heterogeneity in post-acute COVID-19 syndrome: a rationale for precision medicine.

From Clinical Trials

• Evaluation of Safety & Efficacy of MIR 19 ® Inhalation Solution in Patients With Mild COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: MIR 19 ®;   Combination Product: Standard therapy
  Sponsor:   National Research Center - Institute of Immunology Federal Medical-Biological Agency of Russia
  Completed

• LACTYFERRIN™ Forte and ZINC Defense™ and Standard of Care (SOC) vs SOC in the Treatment of Non-hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: Sesderma LACTYFERRIN™ Forte and Sesderma ZINC Defense™;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsors:   Jose David Suarez, MD;   Sesderma S.L.;   Westchester General Hospital Inc. DBA Keralty Hospital Miami;   MGM Technology Corp
  Not yet recruiting

• MP0420 for Inpatients With COVID-19 (An ACTIV-3/TICO Treatment Trial) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: MP0420;   Drug: Placebo;   Biological: Remdesivir
  Sponsors:   National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID);   International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT);   University of Copenhagen;   Medical Research Council;   Kirby Institute;   Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center;   AIDS Clinical Trials Group;   National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI);   US Department of Veterans Affairs;   Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL);   Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN);   Molecular Partners AG;   University of Minnesota
  Active, not recruiting

• AZD7442 for Inpatients With COVID-19 (An ACTIV-3/TICO Treatment Trial) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: AZD7442;   Biological: Placebo;   Biological: Remdesivir
  Sponsors:   National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID);   International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT);   University of Copenhagen;   Medical Research Council;   Kirby Institute;   Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center;   AIDS Clinical Trials Group;   National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI);   US Department of Veterans Affairs;   Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL);   Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN);   AstraZeneca;   University of Minnesota
  Active, not recruiting

• PF-07304814 for Inpatients With COVID-19 (An ACTIV-3/TICO Treatment Trial) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: PF-07304814;   Drug: Placebo;   Biological: Remdesivir
  Sponsors:   National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID);   International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT);   University of Copenhagen;   Medical Research Council;   Kirby Institute;   Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center;   AIDS Clinical Trials Group;   National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI);   US Department of Veterans Affairs;   Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL);   Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN);   Pfizer;   University of Minnesota
  Suspended

• VIR-7831 for Inpatients With COVID-19 (An ACTIV-3/TICO Treatment Trial) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: VIR-7831;   Biological: Placebo;   Biological: Remdesivir
  Sponsors:   National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID);   International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT);   University of Copenhagen;   Medical Research Council;   Kirby Institute;   Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center;   AIDS Clinical Trials Group;   National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI);   US Department of Veterans Affairs;   Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL);   Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN);   Vir Biotechnology, Inc.;   GlaxoSmithKline;   University of Minnesota
  Completed

• BRII-196/BRII-198 for Inpatients With COVID-19 (An ACTIV-3/TICO Treatment Trial) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: BRII-196;   Biological: BRII-198;   Biological: Placebo;   Biological: Remdesivir
  Sponsors:   National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID);   International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT);   University of Copenhagen;   Medical Research Council;   Kirby Institute;   Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center;   AIDS Clinical Trials Group;   National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI);   US Department of Veterans Affairs;   Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL);   Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN);   Brii Biosciences Limited;   University of Minnesota
  Completed

• LY3819253 (LY-CoV555) for Inpatients With COVID-19 (An ACTIV-3/TICO Treatment Trial) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: LY3819253;   Biological: Placebo;   Biological: Remdesivir
  Sponsors:   National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID);   International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT);   University of Copenhagen;   Medical Research Council;   Kirby Institute;   Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center;   AIDS Clinical Trials Group;   National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI);   US Department of Veterans Affairs;   Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL);   Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN);   Eli Lilly and Company;   University of Minnesota
  Completed

• Effect of a Health Pathway for People With Persistent Symptoms Covid-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Other: usual care and follow-up by a nurse;   Other: Personalized Multifactorial Intervention (IMP)
  Sponsor:   Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint Etienne
  Not yet recruiting

• RCT for Yinqiaosan-Maxingganshitang in the Treatment of COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: Chinese Herb;   Diagnostic Test: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Chinese University of Hong Kong
  Not yet recruiting

• Traditional Chinese Medicine or Low-dose Dexamethasone in COVID-19 Pneumonia - Condition:   COVID-19 Pneumonia
  Interventions:   Other: conventional western medicine treatment;   Drug: Dexamethasone oral tablet;   Other: Traditional Chinese medicine decoction
  Sponsor:   China-Japan Friendship Hospital
  Recruiting

• Study of the Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy of NP-101 in Treating High Risk Participants Who Are Covid-19 Positive. - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: NP-101;   Other: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Novatek Pharmaceuticals
  Recruiting

• A Clinical Study on Safety and Effectiveness of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Exosomes for the Treatment of COVID-19. - Condition:   COVID-19 Pneumonia
  Intervention:   Biological: Extracellular Vesicles from Mesenchymal Stem Cells
  Sponsor:   First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University
  Recruiting

• Teletechnology-assisted Home-based Exercise Program for Severe COVID-19 - Conditions:   COVID-19;   Telerehabilitation
  Intervention:   Behavioral: Teletechnology-assisted home-based pulmonary rehabilitation
  Sponsor:   National Taiwan University Hospital
  Not yet recruiting

• Cluster-Randomized Trial of Air Filtration and Ventilation to Reduce Covid19 Spread in Homes - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Device: Filtration Fan;   Behavioral: Safe-home pamphlet;   Behavioral: Mid-week phone call
  Sponsor:   Stanford University
  Enrolling by invitation

From PubMed

• Effects of Omicron Infection and Changes in Serum Antibody Response to Wild-Type, Delta, and Omicron After a Booster Dose With BNT163b2 Vaccine in Korean Healthcare Workers - CONCLUSION: Booster vaccination with BNT162b2 was significantly less effective for the neutralizing antibody responses to omicron variant compared to the wild-type or delta variant in healthy population. Humoral immunogenicity was sustained significantly high after 4 months of booster vaccine in the infected population after booster vaccination. Further studies are needed to understand the characteristics of immunogenicity in these populations.

• Cyanometabolites: molecules with immense antiviral potential - Cyanometabolites are active compounds derived from cyanobacteria that include small low molecular weight peptides, oligosaccharides, lectins, phenols, fatty acids, and alkaloids. Some of these compounds may pose a threat to human and environment. However, majority of them are known to have various health benefits with antiviral properties against pathogenic viruses including Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Ebola virus (EBOV), Herpes simplex virus (HSV), Influenza A virus (IAV) etc….

• Heat shock protein 90 facilitates SARS-CoV-2 structural protein-mediated virion assembly and promotes virus-induced pyroptosis - Inhibition of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), a prominent molecular chaperone, effectively limits severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, but little is known about any interaction between Hsp90 and SARS-CoV-2 proteins. Here, we systematically analyzed the effects of the chaperone isoforms Hsp90α and Hsp90β on individual SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins. Five SARS-CoV-2 proteins, namely nucleocapsid (N), membrane (M), and accessory proteins Orf3, Orf7a, and Orf7b were…

• CCL12 induces trabecular bone loss by stimulating RANKL production in BMSCs during acute lung injury - In the last three years, the capacity of health care systems and the public health policies of governments worldwide were challenged by the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Mortality due to SARS-CoV-2 mainly resulted from the development of acute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Moreover, millions of people who survived ALI/ARDS in SARS-CoV-2 infection suffer from multiple lung inflammation-induced complications that lead to disability and even death. The lung-bone axis refers…

• The synergistic effect of Cu-MOF nanoparticles and immunomodulatory agent on SARS-CoV-2 inhibition - In this work, HKUST-1 and Cu-BDC nanoparticles were used as delivery systems for the early anti-COVID-19 drug, hydroxychloroquine. The antiviral MOF/drug combinations significantly reduced the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2, which can be attributed to the nanometric size of the carriers, the presence of copper in the MOF nodes, and the semi-controlled release of the drug.

• In silico and in vitro evaluation of antiviral activity of wogonin against main protease of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus - The high mortality rate of weaned piglets infected with porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) poses a serious threat to the pig industry worldwide, demanding urgent research efforts related to developing effective antiviral drugs to prevent and treat PEDV infection. Small molecules can possibly prevent the spread of infection by targeting specific vital components of the pathogen’s genome. Main protease (Mpro, also named 3CL protease) plays essential roles in PEDV replication and has emerged as…

• G4-binding drugs, chlorpromazine and prochlorperazine, repurposed against COVID-19 infection in hamsters - The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has caused millions of infections and deaths worldwide. Limited treatment options and the threat from emerging variants underline the need for novel and widely accessible therapeutics. G-quadruplexes (G4s) are nucleic acid secondary structures known to affect many cellular processes including viral replication and transcription. We identified heretofore not reported G4s with remarkably low mutation frequency across >5 million SARS-CoV-2 genomes. The G4…

• Heterologous prime-boost immunisation with mRNA- and AdC68-based 2019-nCoV variant vaccines induces broad-spectrum immune responses in mice - The ongoing evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 or 2019-nCoV) variants has been associated with the transmission and pathogenicity of COVID-19. Therefore, exploring the optimal immunisation strategy to improve the broad-spectrum cross-protection ability of COVID-19 vaccines is of great significance. Herein, we assessed different heterologous prime-boost strategies with chimpanzee adenovirus vector-based COVID-19 vaccines plus Wuhan-Hu-1 (WH-1) strain (AdW)…

• Channel activity of SARS-CoV-2 viroporin ORF3a inhibited by adamantanes and phenolic plant metabolites - SARS-CoV-2 has been responsible for the major worldwide pandemic of COVID-19. Despite the enormous success of vaccination campaigns, virus infections are still prevalent and effective antiviral therapies are urgently needed. Viroporins are essential for virus replication and release, and are thus promising therapeutic targets. Here, we studied the expression and function of recombinant ORF3a viroporin of SARS-CoV-2 using a combination of cell viability assays and patch-clamp electrophysiology….

• Effect of Famotidine on COVID-19: Killing Virus or Opposing ARDS? - Since the first detection of SARS-CoV-2 in China, COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019) has taken the lives of more than six million people. Although some antivirals seem proper for treatment, the investigation of finding the best therapeutic approach for COVID-19 is still continuing. Some observational research showed that famotidine has promising effects in addition to its acid-suppressing characteristics in the treatment of COVID-19. The definite viricidal effect of famotidine is not…

• The inhibitory and inducing effects of ritonavir on hepatic and intestinal CYP3A and other drug-handling proteins - Ritonavir, originally developed as HIV protease inhibitor, is widely used as a booster in several HIV pharmacotherapy regimens and more recently in Covid-19 treatment (e.g., Paxlovid). Its boosting capacity is due to the highly potent irreversible inhibition of the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3 A enzyme, thereby enhancing the plasma exposure to coadministered drugs metabolized by CYP3A. Typically used booster doses of ritonavir are 100-200 mg once or twice daily. This review aims to address several…

• Management of patients with advanced prostate cancer-metastatic and/or castration-resistant prostate cancer: report of the Advanced Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference (APCCC) 2022 - CONCLUSIONS: These voting results in four specific areas from a panel of experts in advanced prostate cancer can help clinicians and patients navigate controversial areas of management for which high-level evidence is scant or conflicting and can help research funders and policy makers identify information gaps and consider what areas to explore further. However, diagnostic and treatment decisions always have to be individualised based on patient characteristics, including the extent and…

• Potential medicinal plants to combat viral infections: A way forward to environmental biotechnology - The viral diseases encouraged scientific community to evaluate the natural antiviral bioactive components rather than protease inhibitors, harmful organic molecules or nucleic acid analogues. For this purpose, medicinal plants have been gaining tremendous importance in the field of attenuating the various kinds of infectious and non-infectious diseases. Most of the commonly used medicines contains the bioactive components/phytoconstituents that are generally extracted from medicinal plants….

• Defibrotide mitigates endothelial cell injury induced by plasmas from patients with COVID-19 and related vasculopathies - CONCLUSION: Our data, in the context of a recent clinical trial in severe COVID-19, suggest benefits to further exploration of defibrotide and these pathways in COVID-19 and related endotheliopathies.

• Efficacy and Safety of Garadacimab in Combination with Standard of Care Treatment in Patients with Severe COVID-19 - CONCLUSION: In patients with severe COVID-19, garadacimab did not confer a clinical benefit over placebo. Transient aPTT prolongation and suppressed FXIIa-mKA showed target engagement of garadacimab that was not associated with bleeding events even with concomitant anticoagulant use. The safety profile of garadacimab was consistent with previous studies in patients with hereditary angioedema.

From Patent Search