Background/Objectives: People with obesity (PWO) face an increased risk of severe outcomes from COVID19, including hospitalisation, ICU admission and death. Obesity has been seen to impair immune memory following vaccination against influenza, hepatitis B, tetanus, and rabies. Little is known regarding immune memory in PWO following COVID19 adenovirus vector vaccination. Subjects/Methods: We investigated SARSCoV2 specific T cell responses in 50 subjects, five months following a two dose primary course of ChAdOx1 nCoV19 (AZD1222) vaccination. We further divided our cohort into PWO (n=30) and matched controls (n=20). T cell (CD4+, CD8+) cytokine responses (IFNg, TNFa) to SARSCoV2 spike peptide pools were determined using multicolour flow cytometry. Results: Circulating T cells specific for SARSCoV2 were readily detected across our cohort, with robust responses to spike peptide stimulation across both T cell lines. PWO and controls had comparable levels of both CD4+ and CD8+ SARSCoV2 spike specific T cells. Polyfunctional T cells associated with enhanced protection against viral infection were detected at similar frequencies in both PWO and controls. Conclusions: These data indicate that PWO who have completed a primary course of ChAdOx1 COVID19 vaccination have robust, durable, and functional antigen specific T cell immunity that is comparable to that seen in people without obesity.
The results of a statistical analysis of daily, total by days of the week and monthly data on officially reported deaths cases from the new coronavirus COVID-19 in the countries of the South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia) from March 12, 2020 to May 31, 2022 are presented. All data are normalized per 1 million populations (mortality rate, hereinafter, this normalization is assumed everywhere). In particular, the following results were obtained. The daily mortality rate in Armenia averaged 3.591 (range: 0-23.622), in Azerbaijan - 1.184 (range: 0-10.969), in Georgia - 5.596 (range: 0-23.189). The total monthly mortality rate in Armenia averaged 107.9 (variability range: 1.01-415.4), in Azerbaijan - 35.6 (variability range: 0.39-122.9), in Georgia - 168.1 (variability range: 0-547.4). A direct linear correlation was observed between the indicated countries in cases of daily and total monthly mortality. An analysis of the intraweek course of mortality showed that in Armenia, on weekdays, the average daily mortality is 4.319, and on weekends - 3.477 (an increase compared to weekends by about 24%); in Azerbaijan, on weekdays and weekends, the average daily mortality is 1.368 and 1.421, respectively (the difference is insignificant); in Georgia on weekdays, the average daily mortality is 7.558, and on weekends - 6.855 (an increase of about 10% compared to weekends).
Background: Although disparities in socioeconomic status in health behaviors have been highlighted globally, they are not well understood in Japanese adolescents. The purpose of this study was to clarify the changes in socioeconomic disparities in adolescents9 fundamental health behaviors, such as physical activity, screen time (ST), sleep, breakfast intake, and bowel movement before and during COVID-19. Methods: This was a repeated cross-sectional study which used data from the 2019 and 2021 National Sports-Life Survey of Children and Young in Japan. Data of 766 and 725 participants in 2019 and 2021, respectively, were analyzed. Favorable health behaviors were defined as daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) of at least 60 minutes, ST of less than 2 hours, sleep of 8 to 10 hours, daily breakfast intake, and bowel movement frequency of at least once in every 3 days. We calculated the slope index of inequality (SII) and relative index of inequality (RII) in each health behavior for equivalent household income levels for assessing absolute and relative economic inequalities. Results: Compliance with MVPA and ST recommendation significantly declined from 20.1% and 23.0% in 2019 to 11.7% and 14.9% in 2021, respectively. The SII and RII increased in MVPA for income levels, but decreased in daily breakfast in 2019 to 2021. Although the widening and narrowing of the disparity was inconclusive for ST, it exacerbated for the higher income groups. Conclusions: Our study revealed widening of economic disparities in the achievement of recommended MVPA and narrowing of it in breakfast intake among adolescents before and during COVID-19.
Background: More than one-third of individuals experience post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC, which includes long-COVID). Objective: To identify risk factors associated with PASC/long-COVID. Design: Retrospective case-control study. Setting: 31 health systems in the United States from the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C). Patients: 8,325 individuals with PASC (defined by the presence of the International Classification of Diseases, version 10 code U09.9 or a long-COVID clinic visit) matched to 41,625 controls within the same health system. Measurements: Risk factors included demographics, comorbidities, and treatment and acute characteristics related to COVID-19. Multivariable logistic regression, random forest, and XGBoost were used to determine the associations between risk factors and PASC. Results: Among 8,325 individuals with PASC, the majority were >50 years of age (56.6%), female (62.8%), and non-Hispanic White (68.6%). In logistic regression, middle-age categories (40 to 69 years; OR ranging from 2.32 to 2.58), female sex (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.33-1.48), hospitalization associated with COVID-19 (OR 3.8, 95% CI 3.05-4.73), long (8-30 days, OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.31-2.17) or extended hospital stay (30+ days, OR 3.38, 95% CI 2.45-4.67), receipt of mechanical ventilation (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.18-1.74), and several comorbidities including depression (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.40-1.60), chronic lung disease (OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.53-1.74), and obesity (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.16-1.3) were associated with increased likelihood of PASC diagnosis or care at a long-COVID clinic. Characteristics associated with a lower likelihood of PASC diagnosis or care at a long-COVID clinic included younger age (18 to 29 years), male sex, non-Hispanic Black race, and comorbidities such as substance abuse, cardiomyopathy, psychosis, and dementia. More doctors per capita in the county of residence was associated with an increased likelihood of PASC diagnosis or care at a long-COVID clinic. Our findings were consistent in sensitivity analyses using a variety of analytic techniques and approaches to select controls. Conclusions: This national study identified important risk factors for PASC such as middle age, severe COVID-19 disease, and specific comorbidities. Further clinical and epidemiological research is needed to better understand underlying mechanisms and the potential role of vaccines and therapeutics in altering PASC course.
This study investigates how human mobility has changed in the long-term in response to the COVID-19-related information in Japan. We use publicly available data from Google on human mobility in retail & recreation and residential spent time. These variables can be explained using daily data on the number of infected cases, whether the state of the emergency is declared or not, and the cumulated number of the vaccinated person. In the regression analysis, we use the 9interactive effects model9 to control complicated unobservable factors that vary across time and cross-sectional dimensions. Our regression results find that people feared an unknown virus in the 1st wave, but the habituation trend for human mobility is noticed for the repeated similar infection information. However, from a different kind of information about the spread of new variants, people9s habituation comes to a halt to some extent. Further, the spatial interaction of infection information is observed. We also show that people reacted appropriately to infection information even without a state of emergency declaration. Also, vaccination promotion encourages people to go out with security. When implementing policies to control human mobility, it is essential to consider the timing, and the degree of information penetration, carefully.
Background<br />In Italy, population-based screening programs for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers are mandatory, and Regions are in charge of their delivery. From March to May 2020, a severe lockdown was imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic by the Italian Ministry of Health, with the suspension of screening programs. This paper describes the impact of the pandemic on Italian screening activities and test coverage in 2020.<br /><br />Methods<br />The regional number of subjects invited and of screening tests performed in 2020 were compared with those in 2019. Invitation and examination coverage were also calculated. PASSI surveillance system, through telephone interviews, investigated the population screening test coverage, before and during the pandemic, accordingly to educational attainment, perceived economic difficulties and citizenship.<br /><br />Results<br />A reduction of subjects invited and tests performed, with differences among periods and geographic macro areas, was observed in 2020 vs. 2019. The reduction in examination coverage was larger than that in invitation coverage for all screening campaigns. From the second half of 2020, the trend for test coverage showed a decrease in all the macro areas for all the screening campaigns. Compared with the pre-pandemic period, there was a greater difference according to level of education in the odds of having had a test last year vs. never having been screened or not being up to date with screening tests. In addition, foreigners had less access to screening than Italians did.<br /><br />Conclusions<br />The lockdown and the ongoing Covid-19 emergency caused an important delay in screening activities. This increased the pre-existing individual and geographical inequalities in access. The opportunistic screening did not mitigate the pandemic impact.<br /><br />
Funding
This study was partially supported by Italian Ministry of Health – Ricerca Corrente Annual Program 2023.
SARS-CoV-2 omicron subvariants BA.1 and BA.2 became dominant in many countries in early 2022. These subvariants are now being displaced by BA.4 and BA.5. While natural infection with BA.1/BA.2 provides some protection against BA.4/BA.5 infection, the duration of this protection remains unknown. We used the national Portuguese COVID-19 registry to investigate the waning of protective immunity conferred by prior BA.1/BA.2 infection towards BA.5. We divided the individuals infected during the period of BA.1/BA.2 dominance (>90% of sample isolates) in successive 15-day intervals and determined the risk of subsequent infection with BA.5 over a fixed period. Compared with uninfected people, one previous infection conferred substantial protection against BA.5 re-infection at 3 months (RR=0.12; 95% CI: 0.11-0.12). However, although still significant, the protection was reduced by two-fold at 5 months post-infection (RR=0.24; 0.23-0.24). These results should be interpreted in the context of vaccine breakthrough infections, as the vaccination coverage in the individuals included in the analyses is >98% since the end of 2021. This waning of protection following BA.1/BA.2 infection highlights the need to assess the stability and durability of immune protection induced with the adapted vaccines (based on BA.1) over time.
N95 respirators reduce risk of catching COVID-19 from an infected person both at near-field (e.g. < 6 feet) and far-field (e.g. > 6 feet). Air filtration is usually not effective at near-field, but emulating the far-field equivalent of N95 requires 95% reduction of particles (20x) from airborne particulate sources. A wide range of air change per hour (ACH) recommendations for air filtration exist ranging from 2 to 12 ACH (CDC, CDPH, etc.). Instead of inert airborne contaminant (e.g. salt water) which can be disruptive in occupied rooms, we describe a simpler procedure using an optical particle counter to track the decay of ambient aerosols (0.3 μm diameter) and measure ACH from exponential decay coefficients in a room and a whole house. Surface deposition in an unventilated room without ventilation or filtration was measured to be 0.6 ACH using ambient aerosols. ACH was also measured to be 3 to 17 using low-noise generating HEPA purifiers ($299-$999, reported CADR 114 to 1360 cfm) and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) air purifiers ($55-$160, 1“-5”, MERV 13-16, 1-filter and 4-filter Corsi-Rosenthal boxes). Using ACH and volume of room/house, estimated CADR per dollar varied 4x from below 80 cfm / $100 for tested HEPA purifiers at their highest speed (for maximum CADR) up to above 350 cfm / $100 run with tested DIY air purifiers running on their lowest speed (for reduced noise generation). Differences in CADR were observed in room versus house, and purifiers with higher airspeed had higher than expected CADR, possibly reflecting better mixing. Using 0.6 ACH as baseline for unventilated rooms, at least 12 ACH is required for far-field protection equivalent to N95 respirators (95%), and this ACH can be achieved using either HEPA or DIY air filtration in a room or building and verified with ambient aerosols.
As SARS-CoV-2 infections have been shown to affect the central nervous system, the investigation of associated alterations of brain structure and neuropsychological sequelae is crucial to help address future health care needs. Therefore, we performed a comprehensive neuroimaging and neuropsychological assessment of individuals recovered from a mild to moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection in comparison with matched controls. Following a case-control design, 223 non-vaccinated individuals with a positive polymerase chain reaction test (PCR) for SARS-CoV-2 obtained between 1 March and 31 December 2020 received magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neuropsychological assessments within the framework of the Hamburg City Health Study (median 9.7 months after testing). Two hundred twenty-three healthy controls, examined prior to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, were drawn from the main study and matched for age, sex, education and cardiovascular risk factors. Primary study outcomes were advanced diffusion MRI measures of white matter microstructure, cortical thickness, white matter hyperintensity load and neuropsychological test scores. The present analysis included 223 individuals recovered from mainly mild to moderate SARS-CoV-2 infections (100 female/123 male, age [years], mean +- SD, 55.54 +- 7.07) and 223 matched healthy controls (93 female/130 male, 55.74 +- 6.60). Among all 11 MR imaging markers tested, significant differences between groups were found in global measures of mean diffusivity and extracellular free-water which were both elevated in the white matter of post-SARS-CoV-2 individuals comparing to matched controls (free-water: 0.148 +- 0.018 vs. 0.142 +- 0.017, P<.001; mean diffusivity [10-3 mm2/s]: 0.747 +- 0.021 vs. 0.740 +- 0.020, P<.001). Classification accuracy for detecting post-SARS-CoV-2 individuals based on diffusion imaging markers was up to 80%. Neuropsychological test scores did not significantly differ between groups. Collectively, our findings suggest that subtle changes in white matter extracellular water content may last beyond the acute infection with SARS-CoV-2. However, in our sample, a mild to moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection was not associated with neuropsychological deficits, significant changes in cortical structure or vascular lesions several months after recovery. External validation of our findings and longitudinal follow-up investigations are needed.
Clinical Study to Compare Efficacy and Safety of Casirivimab and Imdevimab Combination, Remdesivir and Favipravir in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Drug: Casirivimab and Imdevimab Drug Combination; Drug: Remdesivir; Drug: Favipiravir
Sponsor: Mansoura University Hospital
Completed
A Study to Measure the Amount of Study Medicine in Blood in Adult Participants With COVID-19 and Severe Kidney Disease - Condition: COVID-19
Intervention: Drug: PF-07321332 (nirmatrelvir)/ritonavir
Sponsor: Pfizer
Not yet recruiting
Cognitive Rehabilitation in Post-COVID-19 Condition - Condition: COVID-19
Intervention: Behavioral: Goal Management Training (GMT)
Sponsors: Lovisenberg Diakonale Hospital; University of Oslo; Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; University of Toronto; UiT The Arctic University of Norway; Oslo University Hospital
Not yet recruiting
Social Network Diffusion of COVID-19 Prevention for Diverse Criminal Legal Involved Communities - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Other: Education; Other: Motivational
Sponsor: University of Chicago
Not yet recruiting
A Study of Booster Immunization With COVID-19 Vaccine,Inactivated Co -Administration With Influenza Vaccine and Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Biological: Adult group in immunogenicity and safety study of combined immunization; Biological: Elderly group in immunogenicity and safety study of combined immunization; Biological: Adult group in safety observation study of combined immunization; Biological: Elderly group in safety observation study of combined immunization
Sponsor: Sinovac Biotech Co., Ltd
Completed
EFFECTS OF INSPIRATORY MUSCLE TRAINING IN POST-COVID-19 PATIENTS - Condition: Covid19
Interventions: Other: TREATMENT GROUP (TG); Other: CONTROL GROUP (CG)
Sponsor: University Vila Velha
Completed
Long-term Effects of SARS-CoV-2 on the Central Nervous System and One-year Follow-up of “Long COVID-19” Patients - Condition: Long Covid19
Intervention: Diagnostic Test: Perfusion brain scintigraphy imaging
Sponsor: Brugmann University Hospital
Recruiting
Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Allogeneic Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Patients With COVID-19 - Condition: COVID-19 Infection
Interventions: Biological: Allogeneic umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells; Biological: Controlled normal saline
Sponsor: Ever Supreme Bio Technology Co., Ltd.
Active, not recruiting
Temelimab as a Disease Modifying Therapy in Patients With Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Post-COVID 19 or PASC Syndrome - Condition: Post-COVID-19 Syndrome
Interventions: Drug: Temelimab 54mg/kg; Drug: Placebo
Sponsor: GeNeuro SA
Not yet recruiting
Active Cycle Of Breathing Technique Verses Breathing Exercises In Post ICU COVID-19 Patients - Condition: Post Covid-19 Patients
Interventions: Other: Chest physiotherapy with breathing exercises and ACBT; Other: Chest physiotherapy with breathing exercises
Sponsor: Riphah International University
Recruiting
The Effects of a Sublingual Sprayable Microemulsion of Vitamin D on Inflammatory Markers in COVID-19 Patients - Conditions: COVID-19; Vitamin D Deficiency
Intervention: Dietary Supplement: Vitamin D 25 (OH) 12000 IU in the form of a sublingual sprayable microemulsion
Sponsor: Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital
Completed
Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy and Increasing COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Among African American Young Adults in the South - Conditions: COVID-19; Vaccine Uptake
Intervention: Behavioral: Tough Talks COVID
Sponsors: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; University of Alabama at Birmingham; National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Not yet recruiting
Hydrogen-Oxygen Generator With Nebulizer for Rehabilitation Treatment of COVID-19 - Conditions: COVID-19; AMS-H-03; Hydrogen-oxygen Gas
Interventions: Device: Hydrogen-Oxygen Generator with Nebulizer, AMS-H-03; Other: basic treatment
Sponsor: Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital
Recruiting
Huashi Baidu Granule in the Treatment of Pediatric Patients With Mild Coronavirus Disease 2019 - Condition: Coronavirus Disease 2019
Interventions: Drug: Huashi Baidu granule; Drug: compound pholcodine oral solution
Sponsor: Shanghai Children’s Medical Center
Completed
Evaluation of Safety and Immunogenicity of the Recombinant ZR202-CoV and ZR202a-CoV Vaccines in Adults. - Conditions: SARS-CoV-2 Infection; COVID-19
Interventions: Biological: ZR202-CoV; Biological: ZR202a-CoV; Biological: Comirnaty®
Sponsor: Shanghai Zerun Biotechnology Co.,Ltd
Recruiting
Antimicrobial peptides: Defending the mucosal epithelial barrier - The recent epidemic caused by aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 virus illustrates the importance and vulnerability of the mucosal epithelial barrier against infection. Antimicrobial proteins and peptides (AMPs) are key to the epithelial barrier, providing immunity against microbes. In primitive life forms, AMPs protect the integument and the gut against pathogenic microbes. AMPs have also evolved in humans and other mammals to enhance newer, complex innate and adaptive immunity to favor the persistence of…
SEMgsa: topology-based pathway enrichment analysis with structural equation models - CONCLUSIONS: SEMgsa is a novel yet powerful method for identifying enrichment with regard to gene expression data. It takes into account topological information and exploits pathway perturbation statistics to reveal biological information. SEMgsa is implemented in the R package SEMgraph, easily available at https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=SEMgraph .
The spike of SARS-CoV-2 promotes metabolic rewiring in hepatocytes - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes a multi-organ damage that includes hepatic dysfunction, which has been observed in over 50% of COVID-19 patients. Liver injury in COVID-19 could be attributed to the cytopathic effects, exacerbated immune responses or treatment-associated drug toxicity. Herein we demonstrate that hepatocytes are susceptible to infection in different models: primary hepatocytes derived from humanized angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 mice (hACE2)…
Ultrabright nanoparticle-labeled lateral flow immunoassay for detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies in human serum - The level of anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies (NAb) is an indispensable reference for evaluating the acquired protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2. Here, we established an ultrabright nanoparticles-based lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) for one-step rapid semi-quantitative detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 NAb in vaccinee’s serum. Once embedded in polystyrene (PS) nanoparticles, the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) luminogen, AIE(490), exhibited ultrabright fluorescence due to the rigidity…
Lymphatic coagulation and neutrophil extracellular traps in lung-draining lymph nodes of COVID-19 decedents - Clinical manifestations of severe COVID-19 include coagulopathies that are exacerbated by the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). Here, we report that pulmonary lymphatic vessels, which traffic neutrophils and other immune cells to the lung-draining lymph node (LDLN), can also be blocked by fibrin clots in severe COVID-19. Immunostained tissue sections from COVID-19 decedents revealed widespread lymphatic clotting not only in the lung, but notably in the LDLN, where the extent of…
Complement C3 inhibition in severe COVID-19 using compstatin AMY-101 - Complement C3 activation contributes to COVID-19 pathology, and C3 targeting has emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy. We provide interim data from ITHACA, the first randomized trial evaluating a C3 inhibitor, AMY-101, in severe COVID-19 (PaO2/FiO2 ≤ 300 mmHg). Patients received AMY-101 (n = 16) or placebo (n = 15) in addition to standard of care. AMY-101 was safe and well tolerated. Compared to placebo (8 of 15, 53.3%), a higher, albeit nonsignificant, proportion of AMY-101-treated…
Adding Insult to Injury - Does COVID-19 Promote ARDS by Inhibiting Surfactant? - No abstract
Lysine-Targeted Reversible Covalent Ligand Discovery for Proteins via Phage Display - Binding via reversible covalent bond formation presents a novel and powerful mechanism to enhance the potency of synthetic inhibitors for therapeutically important proteins. Work on this front has yielded the anticancer drug bortezomib as well as the antisickling drug voxelotor. However, the rational design of reversible covalent inhibitors remains difficult even when noncovalent inhibitors are available as a scaffold. Herein, we report chemically modified phage libraries, both linear and…
SOCS1 Haploinsufficiency Presenting as Severe Enthesitis, Bone Marrow Hypocellularity, and Refractory Thrombocytopenia in a Pediatric Patient with Subsequent Response to JAK Inhibition - Haploinsufficiency of suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1) is a recently discovered autoinflammatory disorder with significant rheumatologic, immunologic, and hematologic manifestations. Here we report a case of SOCS1 haploinsufficiency in a 5-year-old child with profound arthralgias and immune-mediated thrombocytopenia unmasked by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Her clinical manifestations were accompanied by excessive B cell activity, eosinophilia, and elevated IgE levels. Uniquely, this is the…
Furin cleavage is required for swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus spike protein-mediated cell-cell fusion - Swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV) was reported in China in 2017 and is a causative agent of porcine enteric disease. Recent studies indicate that cells from various hosts are susceptible to SADS-CoV, suggesting the zoonotic potential of this virus. However, little is known about the mechanisms through which this virus enters cells. In this study, we investigated the role of furin in SADS-CoV spike (S)-mediated cell-cell fusion and entry. We found that the SADS-CoV S protein…
Molecular interactions of Zyesami with the SARS-CoV-2 nsp10/nsp16 protein complex - Background SARS-CoV-2 emerged in late 2019, causes COVID-19. Patients treated with Zyesami were found to be 3-fold decrease in respiratory failure and improvement in clinical outcome. It was reported that Zyesami inhibits RNA replication of SARS-CoV-2, including several non-structural proteins that essential in viral RNA replication. SARS-CoV-2 is a distinctive virus that required nsp10 and nsp16 for its methyltransferases activity which is crucial for RNA stability and protein synthesis….
Lower serum alpha 1 antitrypsin levels in patients with severe COVID-19 compared with patients hospitalized due to non-COVID-19 pneumonia - CONCLUSION: Patients admitted due to severe COVID-19 had lower A1AT levels in comparison to patients admitted due to non-COVID pneumonia. This observation may suggest an association between mildly diminished A1AT and higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection with severe COVID-19 disease.
Interaction of panduratin A and derivatives with the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (mpro): a molecular docking study - Panduratin A (Pa-A) is a prenylated cyclohexenyl chalcone isolated from the rhizomes of the medicinal and culinary plant Boesenbergia rotunda (L.) Mansf., commonly called fingerroots. Both an ethanolic plant extract and Pa-A have shown a marked antiviral activity against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic disease. Pa-A functions as a protease inhibitor inhibiting infection of human cells by the virus. We have modeled the…
Prognostic Value of Serial Measurement of Serum Des-Arg(6)-Bradykinin Levels in Severe COVID-19 Patients - CONCLUSIONS: According to our results serially measured serum DABK levels did not correlate with outcome of severe COVID-19 and do not have prognostic value in severe COVID-19 patients.
Restriction of SARS-CoV-2 replication in the human placenta - Although SARS-CoV-2 can infect human placental tissue, vertical transmission is rare. Therefore, the placenta may function as a barrier to inhibit viral transmission to the foetus, though the mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we confirmed the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 genome in human placental tissue by in situ hybridization with antisense probes targeting the spike protein; tissue staining was much lower when using sense probes for the spike protein. To the best of our knowledge, this…