- Large-scale web scraping for problem gambling research: a case study of COVID-19 lockdown effects in Germany -
The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures to prevent its spread have had a negative impact on substance use behaviour and posed a special threat for individuals at risk. Problem gambling is a major public health concern, and it is likely that the lockdown and social distancing measures have altered gambling behaviour, for instance shifting from land-based to online gambling. In this study, we used large-scale web scraping to analyse posting behaviour on a major German online gambling forum, gathering a database of more than 200k posts. We examined the relative usage of different subforums, i.e. terrestrial, online gambling and problem gambling sections, posting frequency, and changes in posting behaviour related to the casino closures that were part of the nationwide restrictions in Germany in 2020. There was a marked increase in the number of newly registered users during the first lockdown compared to the weeks prior to the lockdown, which may reflect a shift from terrestrial to online gambling. Further, there was an increase in the number of posts in the online gambling subforum with a concurrent decrease in the number of posts in the terrestrial gambling subforum. An analysis of user types revealed that a substantial number of users who posted in both the online and terrestrial forum contributed at least once to the problem gambling subforum. This subforum contained the longest posts, which were on average twice as long as the average post. Modelling the relationship between reply frequency and latency between initial posts and replies showed that the number of short-latency replies (i.e. replies posted within seven hours after the initial post) was substantially higher during the first lockdown compared to the preceeding weeks.The increase during the first lockdown may reflect the general marked increase in screen time and/or usage of online platforms and media after the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The analyses may help to identify lockdown-related effects on gambling behaviour. These potentially detrimental effects on mental health, including addiction and problem gambling, may require monitoring and special public health measures.
- Monthly correlates of longitudinal child mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic according to children and caregivers -
Background. Multiple reviews identify the broad, pervasive initial impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of children, who may be particularly vulnerable to long-term psychiatric sequelae of the ongoing pandemic. However, limited longitudinal research examines persistence of, or change in, children’s distress or psychiatric symptomatology. Methods. From June 2020 through December 2021, we enrolled two cohorts of families of children aged 8 to 13 from Southwestern Ontario into a staggered baseline, longitudinal design that leveraged multi-informant report (N=317 families). In each family, one child and one parent or guardian completed a baseline assessment, 6 monthly follow-up assessments, and one final follow-up assessment 9 months post-baseline. At each assessment, the child and parent or guardian completed the CoRonavIruS health Impact Survey and measures of child anxiety, depressive, irritability, and posttraumatic stress syndromes. Results. Results indicate a broad impact of the pandemic on children’s mental health, which fluctuated over the study period. Elevated local monthly COVID-19 prevalence, hospitalization, and death rates were associated with monthly elevations in children’s reported worry about contracting COVID-19 and stress related to non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI). In turn, both elevated monthly worry about contracting COVID-19 and NPI-related stress were associated with monthly elevations in child- and parent- or guardian-report of children’s psychological distress and psychiatric syndromes. Conclusions. This study illustrates the importance of, and informs the potential design of, longitudinal research to track the broad, sustained impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of children, who may be particularly vulnerable during the ongoing global crisis.
- In harm’s way, but not stressed about it: On the antecedents and consequences of belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories -
Conspiracy theories proliferate during times of turmoil. Not surprisingly, the COVID-19 pandemic has created an environment in which virus-related conspiracy theories have thrived. The current study leverages prior research to shed light on the antecedents and consequences of conspiracy theory beliefs in the important, real-world context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, we found that suffering greater negative economic consequences due to the pandemic predicted greater belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories, and this relation was strongest among those generally inclined to believe conspiracy theories. We then examined the consequences of coming to hold such beliefs. Greater endorsement of COVID-19 conspiracy theories predicted less social distancing behavior, greater minimization of the threat of COVID-19, and lower levels of general stress. These findings replicate and extend prior research showing a link between conspiracy theory beliefs and rejection of scientific advice, but also offer evidence pointing to a psychological benefit of believing conspiracy theories.
- Effect of Yoga on the Stress, Anxiety, and Depression of COVID-19-Positive Patients. A Quasi-Randomized Controlled Study. -
The spread of COVID-19 has resulted in reports of an increase in stress, anxiety, and depression across society, especially in people who have tested positive for COVID-19, which affects their mental health and well-being. This article reports a quasi-randomized controlled study conducted in the COVID wards of a hospital to examine the efficacy of add-on yoga intervention in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression in COVID-affected patients under quarantine. The peripheral capillary oxygen saturation level and heart rate of the COVID-19-affected patients were also measured. A total of 62 COVID-19-positive patients participated in the study. The participants were randomized into a control group (n = 31), which received conventional medical treatment alone, and a yoga intervention group (n = 31), which received 50 minutes of yoga intervention along with the conventional medical treatment. Standardized Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder–7 Item, Patient Health Questionnaire–9, and Perceived Stress Scale were administered at the beginning and end of the quarantine period. A significant decrease in stress, anxiety, and depression was observed in the patients who undertook the add-on yoga intervention. There was also a significant decrease in anxiety in the control group, but the yoga intervention group had a larger decrease compared to the control group. Further significant improvements in oxygen saturation and heart rate levels were observed in the group of patients who were practicing yoga, but no significant improvement was observed in the control group. The findings of this study suggest that yoga intervention can be an effective add-on practice in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression levels in COVID-19 patients.
- REDIRECTION: Generating drug repurposing hypotheses using link prediction with DISNET data -
In the recent years and due to COVID-19 pandemic, drug repurposing or repositioning has been placed in the spotlight. Giving new therapeutic uses to already existing drugs, this discipline allows to streamline the drug discovery process, reducing the costs and risks inherent to de novo development. Computational approaches have gained momentum, and emerging techniques from the machine learning domain have proved themselves as highly exploitable means for repurposing prediction. Against this backdrop, one can find that biomedical data can be represented in terms of graphs, which allow depicting in a very expressive manner the underlying structure of the information. Combining these graph data structures with deep learning models enhances the prediction of new links, such as potential disease-drug connections. In this paper, we present a new model named REDIRECTION, which aim is to predict new disease-drug links in the context of drug repurposing. It has been trained with a part of the DISNET biomedical graph, formed by diseases, symptoms, drugs, and their relationships. The reserved testing graph for the evaluation has yielded to an AUROC of 0.93 and an AUPRC of 0.90. We have performed a secondary validation of REDIRECTION using RepoDB data as the testing set, which has led to an AUROC of 0.87 and a AUPRC of 0.83. In the light of these results, we believe that REDIRECTION can be a meaningful and promising tool to generate drug repurposing hypotheses.
- “It’s still there, but it doesn’t have as big of an effect on me”: Qualitative findings on experiences of applying brief mindfulness in the context of COVID-19 anxiety -
Purpose Brief mindfulness-based interventions have received great research attention, including in the domain of anxiety. However, quantitative studies do not provide in-depth accounts of how brief mindfulness is experienced. In this qualitative study, we explored how non-meditator undergraduate students learn brief mindfulness and apply it to anxiety-provoking aspects of COVID-19. Methods We conducted five focus groups (16 participants). Participants identified an aspect of the pandemic that makes them feel anxious, and engaged in a moderated discussion. They learned a brief mindfulness technique, applied it to their aspect, and engaged in another discussion. Results We conducted thematic analysis, identifying five themes. Participants found learning mindfulness effortless. Brief mindfulness altered their relationship to their experiences, where they perceived anxiety-provoking aspects as transient. The metaphor of the waterfall facilitated this process, but participants experienced challenges such as mind-wandering. Participants reported calming effects of mindfulness, experiencing it within the collective setting of the study. Lastly, participants reported confidence in applying brief mindfulness in the future, particularly for short-term relief. Conclusions Our findings illustrate various features of the process of learning and applying brief mindfulness. Understanding these features is essential for developing effective brief techniques that target distressing daily life situations, including beyond the pandemic.
- The impact of COVID-19 on prescribing of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy for people with unresectable pancreatic cancer in England. A cohort study using OpenSafely-TPP -
Background: Cancer treatments were variably disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite UK national guidelines recommending pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy to all people with unresectable pancreatic cancer, observational studies demonstrate under-prescribing. Aim: To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prescribing of pancreatic enzyme replacement to people with unresectable pancreatic cancer. Methods: With the approval of NHS England, we conducted a cohort study using 24 million health records through the OpenSAFELY-TPP research platform. We modelled the effect of COVID-19 with multivariable linear regression. Results: We found no reduction in pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, since 2015, the rates of prescribing increased steadily over time by 1% every year. The national rates ranged from 41% in 2015 to 48% in 2022. There was substantial regional variation. The highest rates of 50% to 60% were in the West Midlands and lowest (20% to 30%) in London. Conclusions: In contrast to many other treatments, prescribing of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy was not affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although overall rates increased over time, substantial under-prescribing existed at the end of this study (March 2022). At just under 50% in 2022, the rates were still below the recommended 100% standard. Prior work evaluating quality of care in this area relied on manual audits which come at increased cost and reduced frequency of updates. With the methodological advantage of OpenSAFELY, we established an automated audit which allows for regular updates.
- Understanding the trouble spot: Does vaccination status identification fuel societal polarization? -
As COVID-19 vaccination campaigns failed to achieve sufficient immunization rates, public discord between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated has intensified globally. Theories of intergroup relations propose that identifying with one’s social group plays a key role in the perceptions and behaviors that fuel intergroup conflict. Here, we apply these insights to the context of COVID-19 vaccination, exploring the idea that identification with one’s vaccination status is what underlies the current societal polarization. The study draws on unique panel data from large samples of vaccinated (n = 3,267) and unvaccinated (n = 2,038) respondents in Germany and Austria that were collected in December 2021, February, March, and July 2022. The findings confirm that vaccination status identification (VSI) explains substantial variance in a range of polarizing attitudes and behaviors, indicating its importance for increasing conflicts between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. VSI was also found to be related to higher psychological reactance toward mandatory vaccination policies among the unvaccinated and to their intention to resist and evade such regulations. Similarly, higher levels of VSI reduced the gap between intended and actual counter-behaviors over time by the unvaccinated. The results highlight that identification processes may play a pivotal role in explaining and mitigating polarized situations. VSI also appears to be an important measure for more accurately predicting behavioral responses to vaccination policies. Additionally, the results suggest the need for identity-based interventions and de-escalating strategies to increase the acceptance and effectiveness of vaccination campaigns.
- Parenting in a Pandemic: A Qualitative Exploration of Parents’ Experiences of Supporting their Children During the Covid-19 Pandemic -
This qualitative study examined parents’ experiences of supporting their children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Seventeen parents of children aged 2-16 years from diverse backgrounds, living in the UK, were interviewed one-to-one about their experiences. Ten professionals working with children and families were also interviewed to gain a broader perspective of parents’ experiences. Using Reflexive Thematic Analysis, we identified four central themes: a) worries and uncertainties; b) mental exhaustion; c) resources available to cope with the challenges; and d) finding the positives. Findings revealed the worries and uncertainties that parents faced regarding how best to support their child and the long-term consequences of the pandemic, as well as feelings of mental exhaustion from juggling multiple responsibilities. The impact of Covid-19 on parents’ wellbeing was varied and parents identified several factors that determined their ability to support their children, such as space in the home environment, support networks and their personal mental health. Despite the challenges, some parents reported positive experiences, such as strengthened family bonds during the pandemic. Our study emphasizes the importance of flexible work arrangements and family-friendly employment policies, as well as support for parents to enable them to support their children and look after their own wellbeing.
- Early Impacts of College, Interrupted: Considering First-Year Students’ Narratives about COVID and Reports of Adjustment during College Shutdowns -
The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened lives and livelihoods, imperiled families and communities, and disrupted developmental milestones globally. Among the critical developmental disruptions experienced is the transition to college, which is common and foundational for personal and social exploration. During college shutdowns (Spring 2020), we recruited 633 first year, US students (M age = 18.83 years; 71.3% cisgender women) to provide narratives about the impacts of the pandemic. We tested the ways narrative features were associated with concurrent and longitudinal COVID stressors, psychosocial adjustment, and identity development. Narrative growth expressed in Spring 2020 was positively associated with psychosocial adjustment and global identity development and was negatively associated with mental health concerns. Associations were supported concurrently and at one-year follow-up. Growth partly explained associations between COVID stressors and students’ adjustment. Our findings reinforce the importance of growth for resilience and underscore the importance of connective reasoning as people navigate a chronic stress.
- The COVID-19 Pandemic Attenuated Ongoing Declines in Drinking Trajectories in Emerging Adults: A Longitudinal Behavioral Economic Analysis -
Background: Longitudinal research on COVID-19 impacts on drinking is scarce and largely restricted to comparing drinking levels before and after the introduction of COVID mitigation measures. This brief snapshot of behavior ignores the extended pre-COVID drinking trajectory, which may be decreasing increasing, or remaining stable over time. Behavioral economics predicts that pandemic-related constraints on behavioral alternatives to alcohol and drug use, and decreased constraints on alcohol, may result in increases in drinking at later stages of the pandemic. Therefore, the current study characterized drinking trajectories among emerging adults before and during the pandemic and investigated time-invariant demographic predictors and time-varying behavioral economic predictors of trajectories of drinking and behavioral economic variables. Methods: A pandemic-focused survey was distributed between May 15 and June 29, 2020 to emerging adults participating in an ongoing longitudinal study involving pre-COVID data collection every four months. Participants with four pre-COVID assessments were included in the current study (N = 312, ages 21.5-24 years; 65.1% female). Results: Linear piecewise models best fit the drinking days and drinks per week data, suggesting a pandemic-related disruption of ongoing drinking trajectories. After controlling for all other time-invariant predictors, lower environmental reward was associated with greater increases in heavy drinking days and income loss was associated with lower drinking days, drinks, and heavy drinking days per week. In parallel LGCM models, increases in alcohol demand indices were generally associated with increases in drinking from the pre- to the post-COVID onset timepoint. Conclusions: The results suggest that the pandemic attenuated ongoing declines in drinking trajectories and highlight the value of examining trajectories to characterize COVID-19-related effects. Behavioral economic measures of environmental and alcohol reward may be useful predictors of changing alcohol use patterns, particularly in the context of emergent public health crises.
- Environmental Stability of Enveloped Viruses is Impacted by the Initial Volume and Evaporation Kinetics of Droplets -
Efficient spread of respiratory viruses requires the virus to maintain infectivity in the environment. Environmental stability of viruses can be influenced by many factors, including temperature and humidity. Our study measured the impact of initial droplet volume (50, 5, and 1 {micro}L) and relative humidity (RH: 40%, 65%, and 85%) on the stability of influenza A virus, bacteriophage, Phi6, a common surrogate for enveloped viruses, and SARS-CoV-2 under a limited set of conditions. Our data suggest that the drying time required for the droplets to reach quasi-equilibrium (i.e. a plateau in mass) varied with RH and initial droplet volume. The macroscale physical characteristics of the droplets at quasi-equilibrium varied with RH but not with initial droplet volume. We observed more rapid virus decay when the droplets were still wet and undergoing evaporation, and slower decay after the droplets had dried. Initial droplet volume had a major effect on virus viability over the first few hours; whereby the decay rate of influenza virus was faster in smaller droplets. In general, influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2 decayed similarly. Overall, this study suggests that virus decay in media is closely correlated with the extent of droplet evaporation, which is controlled by RH. Taken together, these data suggest that decay of different viruses is more similar at higher RH and in smaller droplets and is distinct at lower RH and in larger droplets. Importantly, accurate assessment of transmission risk requires use of physiologically relevant droplet volumes and careful consideration of the use of surrogates.
- COVID19-vaccination affects breath methane dynamics -
Methane (CH4) is well known as a component in the exhaled breath of humans. It has been assumed for a long time that formation of CH4 in humans occurs exclusively by anaerobic microbial activity (methanogenesis) in the gastrointestinal tract. A fraction of the produced CH4 is excreted via the lungs and can then be detected in the breath. However, recent studies challenge this view by showing that CH4 might also be produced endogenously in cells by oxidative-reductive stress reactions. Thus, an increased and fluctuating level of breath CH4 compared to the base level of an individual might also indicate enhanced oxidative stress levels. Thus, monitoring breath CH4 levels might have great potential for in vivo diagnostics. Generally, vaccines generate a strong immune response including the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. To evaluate the effect from current vaccines against COVID-19 on breath CH4 dynamics, breath CH4 was monitored from 12 subjects prior and after the injection of several COVID-vaccines. Prior to COVID-19 vaccination the concentration of breath CH4 was frequently measured by gas chromatograph flame ionization detection (GC-FID, with analytical precision better than 10 parts per billion, ppbv) to obtain the individual variation range of breath CH4 for each subject. Following vaccination, CH4 breath samples were collected at high frequency for a period of 14 days. All subjects monitored showed a strong response in breath CH4 release within 1 to 72 hours after vaccination including shifts and high fluctuations with maximum peaks showing a factor of up to +/-100 compared to base values. Thus, it is highly likely that the observed changes in breath CH4 are coupled to immune responses following Covid-19 vaccination. These preliminary results strongly support the hypothesis that non-microbial methane liberation and utilisation in the human body might be also linked to cellular processes and stress responses independent of classical microbial methanogenesis. Thus, CH4 might be used as a breath biomarker for specific immune responses and individual immune states.
- Honokiol inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication in cell culture -
SARS-CoV-2 emerged in 2019 and since its global spread has caused the death of over 6 million people. There are currently few antiviral options for treatment of COVID-19. Repurposing of known drugs can be a fast route to obtain molecules that inhibit viral infection and/or modulate pathogenic host responses. Honokiol is a small molecule from Magnolia trees, for which several biological effects have been reported, including anticancer and anti-inflammatory activity. Honokiol has also been shown to inhibit several viruses in cell culture. In this study, we show that honokiol protected Vero E6 cells from SARS-CoV-2-mediated cytopathic effect with an EC50 of 7.8 {micro}M. In viral load reduction assays we observed that honokiol decreased viral RNA copies as well as viral infectious progeny titers. The compound also inhibited SARS-CoV-2 replication in the more relevant A549 cells, expressing ACE2 and TMPRSS2. A time-of-addition assay showed that honokiol inhibited virus replication even when added post infection, suggesting it acts at a post-entry step of the replication cycle. Honokiol was also effective against more recent variants of SARS-CoV-2, including omicron and it inhibited other human coronaviruses as well. Our study suggests that honokiol is an interesting molecule to evaluate in animal studies and clinical trials to investigate its effect on virus replication and pathogenic (inflammatory) host responses.
- High Frequencies of Phenotypically and Functionally Senescent and Exhausted CD56+CD57+PD-1+ Natural Killer Cells, SARS-CoV-2-Specific Memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cells Associated with Severe Disease in Unvaccinated COVID-19 Patients -
Unvaccinated COVID-19 patients display a large spectrum of symptoms, ranging from asymptomatic to severe symptoms, the latter even causing death. Distinct Natural killer (NK) and CD4+ and CD8+ T cells immune responses are generated in COVID-19 patients. However, the phenotype and functional characteristics of NK cells and T-cells associated with COVID-19 pathogenesis versus protection remain to be elucidated. In this study, we compared the phenotype and function of NK cells SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in unvaccinated symptomatic (SYMP) and unvaccinated asymptomatic (ASYMP) COVID-19 patients. The expression of senescent CD57 marker, CD45RA/CCR7differentiation status, exhaustion PD-1 marker, activation of HLA-DR, and CD38 markers were assessed on NK and T cells from SARS-CoV-2 positive SYMP patients, ASYMP patients, and Healthy Donors (HD) using multicolor flow cytometry. We detected significant increases in the expression levels of both exhaustion and senescence markers on NK and T cells from SYMP patients compared to ASYMP patients and HD controls. In SYMP COVID-19 patients, the T cell compartment displays several alterations involving naive, central memory, effector memory, and terminally differentiated T cells. The senescence CD57 marker was highly expressed on CD8+ TEM cells and CD8+ TEMRA cells. Moreover, we detected significant increases in the levels of pro-inflammatory TNF-a, IFN-g, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-17 cytokines from SYMP COVID-19 patients, compared to ASYMP COVID-19 patients and HD controls. The findings suggest exhaustion and senescence in both NK and T cell compartment is associated with severe disease in critically ill COVID-19 patients.
Puerto Rico COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Study - Condition: COVID-19
Intervention: Other: Educational intervention
Sponsors: University of Puerto Rico; National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Recruiting
Monitoring the Efficacy of a Probiotic Dietary Supplement SmartProbio C in Patients With Severe COVID-19 Infection - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Dietary Supplement: SmartProbio C; Dietary Supplement: Placebo
Sponsors: Medi Pharma Vision; Veterinary Research Institute; Brno University Hospital
Completed
Bank of Human Leukocytes From COVID-19 Convalescent Donors With an Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Cellular Immunity - Condition: COVID-19
Intervention: Other: Generation of a biobank allowing the cryopreservation of leucocytes from COVID19 convalescent donors
Sponsor: Central Hospital, Nancy, France
Not yet recruiting
Beta-glucans for Hospitalised Patients With COVID-19 - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Drug: MC 3x3; Drug: Placebo
Sponsors: Concentra Educacion e Investigación Biomédica; Wohlstand Pharmaceutical
Not yet recruiting
A Study to Learn About a New COVID-19 RNA Vaccine Candidate as a Booster Dose in COVID-19 Vaccine-Experienced Healthy Adults - Conditions: SARS-CoV-2 Infection; COVID-19
Interventions: Biological: BNT162b5 Bivalent (WT/OMI BA.2); Biological: BNT162b2 Bivalent (WT/OMI BA.1)
Sponsors: BioNTech SE; Pfizer
Not yet recruiting
A Randomised, Multi-centre, Double-blind, Phase 3 Study to Observe the Effectiveness, Safety and Tolerability of Molnupiravir Compared to Placebo Administered Orally to High-risk Adult Outpatients With Mild COVID-19 Receiving Local Standard of Care in South Africa - Condition: COVID-19
Intervention: Drug: Molnupiravir 200 mg
Sponsors: University of Witwatersrand, South Africa; Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Not yet recruiting
An Observer-blind, Cohort Randomized, Exploratory Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Safety and Immunogenicity of Recombinant Covid-19 Vaccine, mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine and Recombinant SARS-CoV-2 Trimeric S-protein Subunit Vaccine as 4th Dose in Individuals Primed/ Boosted With Various Regimens - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Biological: AstraZeneca/Fiocruz; Biological: Pfizer/Wyeth; Biological: Clover SCB-2019
Sponsors: D’Or Institute for Research and Education; Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; University of Oxford
Not yet recruiting
Safety and Immunogenicity of Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) as a Booster - Conditions: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Interventions: Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine (Sf9 Cell); Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated
Sponsor: WestVac Biopharma Co., Ltd.
Recruiting
Safety and Immunogenicity of Recombinant COVID-19 Variant Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) as a Booster - Conditions: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Interventions: Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 variant Vaccine (Sf9 Cell); Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated; Biological: mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Moderna); Biological: Viral Vector COVID-19 vaccine (AstraZeneca)
Sponsor: WestVac Biopharma Co., Ltd.
Not yet recruiting
Rehabilitation for People With Post COVID-19 Syndrome - Condition: Post-COVID-19 Syndrome
Interventions: Other: Multidimensional intervention; Other: Control intervention
Sponsor: Universidad de Granada
Recruiting
Xanthohumol as an Adjuvant Therapy in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients - Condition: COVID-19 Respiratory Infection
Intervention: Biological: Xanthohumol - prenylated chalcone extracted from female inflorescences of hop cones (Humulus lupus). Hop-RXn™, BioActive-Tech Ltd, Lublin, Poland; http://xanthohumol.com.pl/
Sponsor: Medical University of Lublin
Suspended
Effect of Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program on Post Hospitalization Severe COVID- 19 Patients - Condition: Post COVID-19 Condition
Intervention: Combination Product: respiratory exercises - incentive spirometer - walking
Sponsor: Fayoum University Hospital
Completed
Study to Evaluate Safety and Immunogenicity of COVID-19 Vaccine in Children 6 Months to < 12 Years - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Biological: Biological/Vaccine: SARS-CoV-2 rS/Matrix-M1 Adjuvant (Initial Vaccination Period); Biological: SARS-CoV-2 rS/Matrix-M1 Adjuvant (Open Label Crossover Vaccination period); Biological: SARS-CoV-2 rS/Matrix-M1 Adjuvant (Booster Vaccination); Other: Placebo
Sponsor: Novavax
Recruiting
A Clinical Trial of Immuno-bridging Between Different Manufacture Scales of Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) - Conditions: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2 Pneumonia
Intervention: Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (Sf9 cell)
Sponsor: WestVac Biopharma Co., Ltd.
Not yet recruiting
Passive Antibodies Against COVID-19 With EVUSHELD in Vaccine Non-responsive CLL - Conditions: Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia; COVID-19
Intervention: Biological: EVUSHELD
Sponsors: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; AstraZeneca
Not yet recruiting
Propofol directly binds to and inhibits TLR7 - Sedatives/anesthetics are important medical tools to facilitate medical care and increase patients’ comfort. Increasingly, there is recognition that sedatives/anesthetics can modulate immune functions. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are major pattern recognition receptors involved in the recognition of microbial components. TLR7 recognizes single-strand RNA virus such as influenza and SARS-CoV2 viruses and initiates interferon (IFN) responses. IFN production triggered by TLR7 stimulation is a…
Equine Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Serum (ECIG) Binds to Mutated RBDs and N Proteins of Variants of Concern and Inhibits the Binding of RBDs to ACE-2 Receptor - The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute syndrome virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been around since November 2019. As of early June 2022, more than 527 million cases were diagnosed, with more than 6.0 million deaths due to this disease. Coronaviruses accumulate mutations and generate greater diversity through recombination when variants with different mutations infect the same host. Consequently, this virus is predisposed to constant and diverse mutations. The SARS-CoV-2 variants of…
Potent and Selective Covalent Inhibition of the Papain-like Protease from SARS-CoV-2 - Direct-acting antivirals are needed to combat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The papain-like protease (PLpro) domain of Nsp3 from SARS-CoV-2 is essential for viral replication. In addition, PLpro dysregulates the host immune response by cleaving ubiquitin and interferon-stimulated gene 15 protein (ISG15) from host proteins. As a result, PLpro is a promising target for inhibition by small-molecule therapeutics….
Cellular and Molecular Mechanism of Pulmonary Fibrosis Post-COVID-19: Focus on Galectin-1, -3, -8, -9 - Pulmonary fibrosis is a consequence of the pathological accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM), which finally leads to lung scarring. Although the pulmonary fibrogenesis is almost known, the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its post effects added new particularities which need to be explored. Many questions remain about how pulmonary fibrotic changes occur within the lungs of COVID-19 patients, and whether the…
An anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic proprietary Chinese medicine nasal spray designated as Allergic Rhinitis Nose Drops (ARND) with potential to prevent SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection by targeting RBD (Delta)- angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) binding - CONCLUSION: ARND could be considered as a safe anti-SARS-CoV-2 agent with potential to prevent SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection.
Protein Scaffold-Based Multimerization of Soluble ACE2 Efficiently Blocks SARS-CoV-2 Infection In Vitro and In Vivo - Soluble ACE2 (sACE2) decoys are promising agents to inhibit SARS-CoV-2, as their efficiency is unlikely to be affected by escape mutations. However, their success is limited by their relatively poor potency. To address this challenge, multimeric sACE2 consisting of SunTag or MoonTag systems is developed. These systems are extremely effective in neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 in pseudoviral systems and in clinical isolates, perform better than the dimeric or trimeric sACE2, and exhibit greater than…
A ricin-based peptide BRIP from Hordeum vulgare inhibits Mpro of SARS-CoV-2 - COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 led to the research aiming to find the inhibitors of this virus. Towards this world problem, an attempt was made to identify SARS-CoV-2 main protease (M^(pro)) inhibitory peptides from ricin domains. The ricin-based peptide from barley (BRIP) was able to inhibit M^(pro) in vitro with an IC(50) of 0.52 nM. Its low and no cytotoxicity upto 50 µM suggested its therapeutic potential against SARS-CoV-2. The most favorable binding site on M^(pro) was identified…
SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein triggers hyperinflammation via protein-protein interaction-mediated intracellular Cl- accumulation in respiratory epithelium - SARS-CoV-2, the culprit pathogen of COVID-19, elicits prominent immune responses and cytokine storms. Intracellular Cl^(-) is a crucial regulator of host defense, whereas the role of Cl^(-) signaling pathway in modulating pulmonary inflammation associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection remains unclear. By using human respiratory epithelial cell lines, primary cultured human airway epithelial cells, and murine models of viral structural protein stimulation and SARS-CoV-2 direct challenge, we…
Differential neutralization and inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 variants by antibodies elicited by COVID-19 mRNA vaccines - The evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in the emergence of new variant lineages that have exacerbated the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of those variants were designated as variants of concern/interest (VOC/VOI) by national or international authorities based on many factors including their potential impact on vaccine-mediated protection from disease. To ascertain and rank the risk of VOCs and VOIs, we analyze the ability of 14 variants (614G, Alpha,…
A pulmonologist’s guide to perform and analyse cross-species single lung cell transcriptomics - Single-cell ribonucleic acid sequencing is becoming widely employed to study biological processes at a novel resolution depth. The ability to analyse transcriptomes of multiple heterogeneous cell types in parallel is especially valuable for cell-focused lung research where a variety of resident and recruited cells are essential for maintaining organ functionality. We compared the single-cell transcriptomes from publicly available and unpublished datasets of the lungs in six different species:…
Immunomodulation and endothelial barrier protection mediate the association between oral imatinib and mortality in hospitalised COVID-19 patients - CONCLUSIONS: The effect of imatinib on mortality in hospitalised COVID-19 patients is mediated through modulation of innate immune responses and reversal of endothelial dysfunction, and possibly moderated by biological subphenotypes.
Efficacy of Covexir® (Ferula foetida oleo-gum) treatment in symptomatic improvement of patients with mild to moderate COVID-19: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial - The SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as an unprecedented emergency state in healthcare system and global challenge. In recent decade, the function of exogenous H(2) S in the treatment of respiratory diseases has been investigated using H(2) S-donor agents. Ferula foetida is a medicinal plant that is traditionally used in respiratory diseases including asthma and viral respiratory diseases. The oleo-gum of this plant is a rich source of several organic sulfides including thiophenes,…
Composition of naturally occurring compounds decreases activity of Omicron and SARS-CoV-2 RdRp complex - Naturally-occurring compounds are acknowledged for their broad antiviral efficacy. Little is however known about their mutual cooperation. Here, we evaluated in vitro efficacy of the defined mixture of agents against the RdRp complex of the original SARS-CoV-2 and Omicron variant. This composition of vitamin C, N-acetylcysteine, resveratrol, theaflavin, curcumin, quercetin, naringenin, baicalin, and broccoli extract showed to inhibit activity of RdRp/nsp7/nsp8 both these variants. In vitro…
Egyptian cobra (Naja haje haje) venom phospholipase A2: a promising antiviral agent with potent virucidal activity against simian rotavirus and bovine coronavirus - Viral infections are linked to a variety of human diseases. Despite the achievements made in drug and vaccine development, several viruses still lack preventive vaccines and efficient antiviral compounds. Thus, developing novel antiviral agents is of great concern, particularly the natural products that are promising candidates for such discoveries. In this study, we have purified an approximately 15 kDa basic phospholipase A2 (PLA2) enzyme from the Egyptian cobra Naja haje haje venom. The…
SARS-CoV-2 infection threatening intestinal health: A review of potential mechanisms and treatment strategies - The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought great problems to mankind, including economic recession and poor health. COVID-19 patients are frequently reported with gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting in clinical diagnosis. Maintaining intestinal health is the key guarantee to maintain the normal function of multiple organs, otherwise it will be a disaster. Therefore, the purpose of this review was deeply understanded the potential mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection…