Objective: To assess perspectives of online grocery shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic among youth, rural residents, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants. Design: Open-ended text message survey data. Survey questions assessed rates of use and perspectives of online grocery shopping among youth and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualitative analysis of survey data from 875 participants (response rate=76.4%) to identify themes in experience with multivariable logistic regression to test associations between online grocery shopping (pickup, delivery, or either) with rurality and SNAP participation. Setting: United States Participants: Nationwide text-messaging poll of youth (14-24 years-old) recruited to meet benchmarks based on the American Community Survey. Results: During the pandemic online grocery shopping was used frequently (46.7%). Safety and convenience were the primary reasons for preferring a shopping mode (in-person or online). Most online shoppers had positive experiences (59.4%), primarily due to convenience; negative experiences (28.3%) were from inaccuracies, inconveniences of the process, and delivery costs. Rural and suburban residence was associated with higher pickup (OR 2.02 and 1.51, respectively, p=.03) and lower delivery use (OR 0.33 and 0.72, respectively, p=.003) compared to urban residence. SNAP participation was not associated with any type of online grocery shopping. Conclusions: Online grocery shopping is common among youth and their families regardless of rurality or SNAP participation, but there are several youth-identified areas for improvement.
Objectives: The humoral immune response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients with chronic inflammatory disease (CID) declines more rapidly with TNFα inhibition. Furthermore, the efficacy of current vaccines against Omicron variants of concern (VOC) including BA.2 is limited. Alterations within immune cell populations, changes in IgG affinity and the ability to neutralise a pre-VOC strain and the BA.2 virus were investigated in these at-risk patients. Methods: Serum levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG, IgG avidity and neutralising antibodies (NA) were determined in anti-TNFα patients (n=10) and controls (n=24 healthy individuals; n=12 patients under other disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, oDMARD) before and after the second and third vaccination by ELISA, immunoblot and live virus neutralisation assay. SARS-CoV-2-specific B- and T cell subsets were analysed by multicolour flow cytometry. Results: IgG avidity and anti-pre-VOC NA titres decreased faster in anti-TNFα recipients than in controls 6 months after the second vaccination (healthy individuals: avidity: p≤0.0001; NA: p=0.0347; oDMARDs: avidity: p=0.0012; NA: p=0.0293). Total plasma cell counts were increased in anti-TNFα patients (Healthy individuals: p=0.0344; oDMARDs: p=0.0254), whereas absolute numbers of SARS-CoV-2-specific cells were comparable 7 days after vaccination. These patients had lower BA.2 NA titres compared to both other groups, even after the third vaccination. Conclusions: We show a reduced SARS-CoV-2 neutralising capacity in patients under TNFα blockade. In this cohort, the plasma cell response appears to be less specific and show stronger bystander activation. While these effects were observable after the first two vaccinations and with older VOC, the differences in responses to BA.2 were magnified.
Objective: The clinical trial unit (CTU) workforce in the UK have been delivering COVID19 research since the inception of the pandemic. Challenges associated with COVID19 research have impacted the global healthcare communities differently. Thus, the overall objective of the study was to determine the mental health impact among CTU staff working during the COVID19 pandemic. Design: A mixed-methods based observational study was designed using a new workforce impact questionnaire using validated mental health assessments of Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Pandemic Stress Index (PSI), Burnout Assessment Tool 12 (BAT12), General Self Efficacy Scale (GSE) and The Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS). Setting: The Qualtrics platform was used to deploy the questionnaire where a quantitative analysis was conducted. The qualitative part of the study used the Microsoft Teams digital application to complete the interviews. Participants All participants were CTU staff within the United Kingdom.
SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are effective at limiting disease severity, but effectiveness is lower among patients with cancer or immunosuppression. Effectiveness wanes with time and varies by vaccine type. Moreover, vaccines are based on the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 spike-protein that emerging variants may evade. Here, we describe a mechanistic mathematical model for vaccination-induced immunity, validate it with available clinical data, and predict vaccine effectiveness for varied vaccine platforms in the setting of variants with ability to escape immunity, increased virulence, or enhanced transmissibility. We further account for concurrent cancer or underlying immunosuppression. The model confirms enhanced immunogenicity following booster vaccination in immunosuppressed patients but predicts at least one more booster dose is required for these individuals to maintain protection. We further studied the impact of variants on immunosuppressed individuals as a function of the interval between multiple booster doses. Our model is useful for planning future vaccinations, and tailoring strategies to risk groups.
Background: During the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a change in the mental status of the elderly, namely anxiety disorders and depression. It is important to know the mental status of the elderly and the role of effective communication because elderly people are easily infected with Covid-19. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out early detection in basic health services. Objective: To know the description of the mental status of the elderly during the Covid-19 pandemic. Method: Non-experimental quantitative design through a descriptive survey approach. The sample size is 202 people using quota sampling technique. Collecting data through home visits and implementing Covid-19 health protocols. The instruments used were the Geriatric Depression Scale 15 (Cronbach9s alpha 0.75) and the Geriatric Anxiety Scale (Cronbach9s alpha 0.93). Results: There were 50.0% did not experience depression and 44.6% had mild depression. Although small, there is a small proportion of respondents experiencing moderate depression as much as 4.5% and 1.0% experiencing severe depression. There are 77.2% experiencing mild anxiety. A total of 21.8% experienced moderate anxiety. Although a small proportion, there are respondents experiencing severe anxiety as much as 1%. Conclusion: During the Covid-19 pandemic, most of the elderly experienced a change in mental status. Suggestion: Health workers are expected to carry out early detection of changes in mental status in the elderly. Keywords: Mental status, Covid-19, Elderly, Nursing, Phylosophical
Background The accurate estimation of the effective reproductive number (Re) of epidemic outbreaks is of central relevance to public health policy and decision making. We present estimateR, an R package for the estimation of the reproductive number through time from delayed observations of infection events. Such delayed observations may for example be confirmed cases, hospitalizations or deaths. The Re estimation procedure is modularized which allows easy implementation of new alternatives to the already-available methods. Users can tailor their analyses according to their particular use cases by choosing among implemented variations. The package is based on the methodology of Huisman et al., developed as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Results The estimateR R package allows users to estimate the effective reproductive number of an epidemic outbreak based on observed cases, hospitalization, death or any other type of event documenting past infections, in a fast and timely fashion. We validated the implementation with a simulation study, and by comparing results from estimateR to results from the Huisman et al. pipeline on empirical COVID-19 case-confirmation incidence. Compared to existing methods, estimateR implements unique features whose benefit we demonstrated with a simulation study. On simulated data, estimateR yielded estimates of similar, if not better, accuracy than compared alternative publicly available methods while being two to three orders of magnitude faster. In summary, this R package provides a fast and flexible implementation to estimate the effective reproductive number for various diseases and datasets. Conclusions The estimateR R package is a modular and extendible tool designed for outbreak surveillance and retrospective outbreak investigation. It extends the method developed for COVID-19 by Huisman et al. and makes it available for a variety of pathogens, outbreak scenarios, and observation types. Estimates obtained with estimateR can be interpreted directly or used to inform more complex epidemic models (e.g. for forecasting) on the value of Re.
Background: Aerosol-generating procedures increase the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among health care workers (HCWs). An effective pre-exposure prophylaxis would mitigate this risk. Objective: To determine the efficacy of pre-exposure prophylactic hydroxychloroquine for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection and symptomatic coronavirus 19 disease (COVID-19) among HCWs at high occupational risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure. Methods: 130 HCWs in the New York University Langone Health System (NYULHS) who performed aerosol-generating procedures on patients with COVID-19 or provided bedside care for inpatients with COVID-19 or persons with suspected COVID-19 in an emergency department, for at least three shifts in a 7-day period, during the first 2020 COVID-19 wave in New York City were enrolled. Participants elected to take oral hydroxychloroquine, 600 mg on day 1 followed by 200 mg daily, or not take hydroxychloroquine for up to 90 days. Participants self-collected dried blood spots and completed digital questionnaires regarding COVID-19 symptoms, adverse events, and other COVID-19 medication use. Results: Six participants (7.5%) seroconverted during the trial: four who took hydroxychloroquine (6.8%) and two who declined hydroxychloroquine (9.5%). All participants not taking hydroxychloroquine reported COVID-19 symptoms at seroconversion compared to one of four participants (25%) who took hydroxychloroquine. Adverse events occurred in eight participants (9.6%) on hydroxychloroquine and were mostly mild. Conclusions: This study (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04354870) did not demonstrate a statistically significant difference in SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion associated with hydroxychloroquine pre-exposure prophylaxis among HCWs at high risk of occupational SARS-CoV-2 exposure, although was underpowered and a high rate of hydroxychloroquine discontinuation was observed.
Undernotification of SARS-CoV-2 infections has been a major obstacle to the tracking of critical quantities such as infection attack rates and the probability of severe and lethal outcomes. We use a model of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and vaccination informed by epidemiological and genomic surveillance data to estimate the number of daily infections occurred in Italy in the first two years of pandemic. We estimate that the attack rate of ancestral lineages, Alpha, and Delta were in a similar range (10-17%, range of 95% CI: 7-23%), while that of Omicron until February 20, 2022, was remarkably higher (51%, 95%CI: 33-70%). The combined effect of vaccination, immunity from natural infection, change in variant features, and improved patient management massively reduced the probabilities of hospitalization, admission to intensive care, and death given infection, with 20 to 40-fold reductions during the period of dominance of Omicron compared to the initial acute phase.
Background COVID-19 restrictions and its impact on healthcare resources have reduced routine infant vaccine uptake, although some report that this effect was short-lived. These prior studies mostly described entire populations, but disparities in uptake may have changed during the pandemic due to differential access to healthcare. Objectives We aimed to examine disparities in the reduction in routine infant vaccine uptake during the COVID-19 pandemic in Manitoba, Canada. Methods We assessed vaccine uptake for routine infant vaccines for a pre-pandemic and pandemic subcohort. We assessed how the reduction in vaccine uptake differed by gender, neighborhood income quintile and region of residence. For each evaluation age, we limited the pandemic subcohort to children reaching this milestone age on/before November 30, 2021. Results Vaccine uptake was about 5-10% lower during the pandemic. The groups most vulnerable to COVID-19 saw the largest reductions in vaccine uptake, with an ongoing downward trend throughout the pandemic. Children in the lowest income neighborhoods saw a 17% reduction in diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis dose 4 uptake at 24 months, 4.4-fold that of high-income neighborhoods, and an 11% reduction in measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine uptake at 24 months, 5.6-fold that of high-income neighborhoods. The largest reductions were for low-income Northern residents and smallest for high-income Winnipeg residents, e.g. 16-fold larger for MMR at 24 months (79:94 pre-pandemic to 65:93 during the pandemic). Conclusions While privileged children have similar high vaccine uptake as before the pandemic, children in populations hardest hit by COVID-19 continue seeing concerning reductions in routine infant vaccination. It is imperative that infant vaccination rates are increased, especially in communities with lower socioeconomic status, as a failure to do so could lead to persistent rebound epidemics in the most vulnerable populations.
The chronic infection hypothesis for novel SARS-CoV-2 variant emergence is increasingly gaining credence following the appearance of Omicron. Here we investigate intrahost evolution and genetic diversity of lineage B.1.517 during a SARS-CoV-2 chronic infection lasting for 471 days (and still ongoing) with consistently recovered infectious virus and high viral loads. During the infection, we found an accelerated virus evolutionary rate translating to 35 nucleotide substitutions per year, approximately two-fold higher than the global SARS-CoV-2 evolutionary rate. This intrahost evolution led to the emergence and persistence of at least three genetically distinct genotypes suggesting the establishment of spatially structured viral populations continually reseeding different genotypes into the nasopharynx. Finally, using unique molecular indexes for accurate intrahost viral sequencing, we tracked the temporal dynamics of genetic diversity to identify advantageous mutations and highlight hallmark changes for chronic infection. Our findings demonstrate that untreated chronic infections accelerate SARS-CoV-2 evolution, ultimately providing opportunity for the emergence of genetically divergent and potentially highly transmissible variants as seen with Delta and Omicron.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus, is a major global health challenge, as there is no efficient treatment for the moderate to severe disease. ADP-ribosylation events are involved in regulating the life cycle of coronaviruses and the inflammatory reactions of the host, hence we assessed the repurposing of registered PARP inhibitors for the treatment of COVID-19. We detected high levels of oxidative stress and strong PARylation in all cell types in the lungs of COVID-19 patients. Interestingly, rucaparib, unlike other PARP inhibitors, reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection rate through binding to the conserved 493-498 amino acid region located in the spike-ACE2 interface in the spike protein and prevented viruses from binding to ACE2. In addition, the spike protein-induced overexpression of IL-6, a key cytokine in COVID-19, was inhibited by rucaparib at pharmacologically relevant concentrations. These findings build a case for repurposing rucaparib for treating COVID-19 disease.
Background: We evaluated the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), an emerging public health problem. Methods and Findings: In a retrospective cohort study, we identified patients with clinically significant PASC using a COVID-19 specific, electronic medical record-based surveillance and outcomes registry from an 8-hospital tertiary healthcare system in the greater Houston metropolitan (primary analyses). Analyses were then replicated across a global research network database. We included all adults (>= 18) who survived beyond 28-days of their index infection. PASC was defined as experiencing constitutional (palpitations, malaise / fatigue, headache) or systemic (sleep disorder, shortness of breath, mood / anxiety disorders, cough, and cognitive impairment) symptoms beyond 28-day post-infection period. Instances of PASC were excluded if the symptoms were present pre-COVID or if they resolved within four weeks of initial infection. We fit multivariable logistic regression models and report estimated likelihood of PASC associated with vaccination or mAb treatment as adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Primary analyses included 53,239 subjects (54.9% female), of whom 5,929, 11.1% (CI: 10.9 - 11.4), experienced PASC. Both, vaccinated breakthrough cases (vs. unvaccinated) and mAb treated patients (vs. untreated) had lower likelihoods for developing PASC, aOR (CI): 0.58 (0.52, 0.66), and 0.77 (0.69, 0.86), respectively. Vaccination was associated with decreased odds of developing all constitutional and systemic symptoms except for taste and smell changes. For all symptoms, vaccination was associated with lower likelihood of experiencing PASC compared to mAb treatment. Replication analysis found almost identical frequency of PASC (11.2%) and similar protective effects against PASC for the COVID-19 vaccine: aOR (CI) 0.25 (0.21 - 0.30) and mAb treatment: 0.62 (0.59 - 0.66). Discussion: Although both COVID-19 vaccines and mAbs decreased the likelihood of PASC, at present, vaccination is the most effective tool to potentially prevent long-term clinical and socio-economic consequences of COVID-19.
Immuno-bridging Study of COVID-19 Protein Subunit Recombinant Vaccine - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Biological: COVID-19 Protein Subunit Recombinant Vaccine; Biological: Active Comparator
Sponsors: PT Bio Farma; Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Indonesia; Faculty of Medicine Universitas Diponegoro; Faculty of Medicine Universitas Andalas; Faculty of Medicine Universitas Hassanudin
Recruiting
A Study to Learn About the Study Medicines (Called Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir) in People 12 Years Old or Older With COVID-19 Who Are Immunocompromised - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Drug: Nirmatrelvir; Drug: Ritonavir; Drug: Placebo for nirmatrelvir; Drug: Placebo for ritonavir
Sponsor: Pfizer
Not yet recruiting
A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Digital, Self-testing Strategy for COVID-19 Infection in South Africa. - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Device: Abbott Panbio rapid antigen self-tests; Other: COVIDSmart CARE! app
Sponsors: McGill University Health Centre/Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre; University of Cape Town Lung Institute
Not yet recruiting
Discussing COVID-19 Vaccines in Private Facebook Groups - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Behavioral: Gist messages on COVID-19 vaccination; Behavioral: COVID-19 vaccine information
Sponsor: George Washington University
Completed
Immunogenicity and Safety Study of One Booster Dose of Trivalent COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Biological: Trivalent COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated, Prototype Strain, Delta Strain and Omicron Strain; Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated
Sponsors: Sinovac Biotech (Colombia) S.A.S.; Sinovac Life Sciences Co., Ltd.
Not yet recruiting
Home-Based Exercise Tele-Rehabilitation After COVID-19 - Condition: Post SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19)
Intervention: Other: Tele-exercise
Sponsors: VA Office of Research and Development; Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center; Salem Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Not yet recruiting
IMM-BCP-01 in Mild to Moderate COVID-19 - Conditions: SARS-CoV2 Infection; COVID-19
Interventions: Drug: IMM-BCP-01; Drug: Placebo
Sponsors: Immunome, Inc.; United States Department of Defense
Recruiting
A Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 Variant (COVID-19 Omicron) mRNA Vaccine (Phase 1) - Condition: COVID-19
Intervention: Biological: ABO1009-DP
Sponsor: Suzhou Abogen Biosciences Co., Ltd.
Not yet recruiting
A Study to Evaluate Safety, Tolerability, and Immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 Variant (COVID-19) mRNA Vaccines - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Biological: ABO1009-DP; Biological: ABO-CoV.617.2; Other: Placebo
Sponsor: Suzhou Abogen Biosciences Co., Ltd.
Not yet recruiting
Can Intensive Insulin Therapy Improve Outcomes of COVID-19 Patients - Conditions: COVID-19; Dysglycemia
Interventions: Drug: Insulin; Drug: Subcutaneous Insulin
Sponsor: Benha University
Completed
Mesenchymal Stromal Cells for the Treatment of Patients With COVID-19. - Conditions: COVID-19 Pneumonia; COVID-19
Interventions: Biological: Mesenchymal stem cell; Other: Placebo
Sponsors: Paulo Brofman; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
Recruiting
A Study to Evaluate Immunogenicity and Safety of MVC-COV1901 Vaccine Compared With AZD1222 - Condition: COVID-19 Vaccine
Interventions: Biological: MVC-COV1901; Biological: AZD1222
Sponsor: Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp.
Not yet recruiting
Laser Therapy on Tension-type Cephalea and Orofacial Pain in Post-covid-19 Patients - Conditions: Tension-Type Headache; Orofacial Pain; COVID-19
Intervention: Radiation: Photobimodulation
Sponsor: University of Nove de Julho
Recruiting
Study of Self-Amplifying Messenger Ribonucleic Acid (samRNA) Vaccines Against COVID-19 in Healthy Adults and People Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) - Conditions: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2
Interventions: Drug: GRT-R912, samRNA-Spikebeta-TCE11; Drug: GRT-R914, samRNA-Spikebeta-TCE9; Drug: GRT-R918, samRNA-SpikeOmicron-N-TCE11
Sponsor: Gritstone bio, Inc.
Recruiting
A Phase 1b Study of a Q-Griffithsin Intranasal Spray for Broad-spectrum Coronavirus Prophylaxis - Condition: COVID-19 Prevention
Interventions: Drug: Q-Griffithsin 3.0; Drug: Q-Griffithsin 6.0
Sponsors: Kenneth Palmer; United States Department of Defense
Recruiting
Tissue Repair Strategies: What We Have Learned From COVID-19 in the Application of MSCs Therapy - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection evokes severe proinflammatory storm and pulmonary infection with the number of confirmed cases (more than 200 million) and mortality (5 million) continue to surge globally. A number of vaccines (e.g., Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson/Janssen and AstraZeneca vaccines) have been developed over the past two years to restrain the rapid spread of COVID-19. However, without much of effective drug therapies, COVID-19 continues to cause multiple irreversible organ…
Recapitulating infection, thermal sensitivity and antiviral treatment of seasonal coronaviruses in human airway organoids - BACKGROUND: Human seasonal coronaviruses usually cause mild upper-respiratory tract infection, but severe complications can occur in specific populations. Research into seasonal coronaviruses is limited and robust experimental models are largely lacking. This study aims to establish human airway organoids (hAOs)-based systems for seasonal coronavirus infection and to demonstrate their applications in studying virus-host interactions and therapeutic development.
A multi-pronged evaluation of aldehyde-based tripeptidyl main protease inhibitors as SARS-CoV-2 antivirals - As an essential enzyme of SARS-CoV-2, the COVID-19 pathogen, main protease (M^(Pro)) is a viable target to develop antivirals for the treatment of COVID-19. By varying chemical compositions at both P2 and P3 positions and the N-terminal protection group, we synthesized 18 tripeptidyl M^(Pro) inhibitors that contained also an aldehyde warhead and β-(S-2-oxopyrrolidin-3-yl)-alaninal at the P1 position. Systematic characterizations of these inhibitors were conducted, including their in vitro…
Pandemic COVID-19, an update of current status and new therapeutic strategies - The global COVID-19 pandemic is underway. In recent weeks, several countries throughout the globe, and particularly in Europe, have experienced an exponential increase in the number of individuals infected with COVID-19, probably induced by a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, called the “Omicron variant.” Mass vaccination against COVID-19 continues worldwide. Are authorized mRNA vaccines effective against the new Omicron variant? Recently, several pharmaceutical companies have developed oral antiviral…
Inhibition of a broad range of SARS-CoV-2 variants by antiviral phytochemicals in hACE2 mice - Although several vaccines and antiviral drugs against SARS-CoV-2 are currently available, control and prevention of COVID-19 through these interventions is limited due to inaccessibility and economic issues in some regions and countries. Moreover, incomplete viral clearance by ineffective therapeutics may lead to rapid genetic evolution, resulting in the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants that may escape the host immune system as well as currently available COVID-19 vaccines. Here, we report…
Rapid Assessment of Biological Activity of Ag-Based Antiviral Coatings for the Treatment of Textile Fabrics Used in Protective Equipment Against Coronavirus - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its variants have rapidly spread worldwide, causing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) with numerous infected cases and millions of deaths. Therefore, developing approaches to fight against COVID-19 is currently the most priority goal of the scientific community. As a sustainable solution to stop the spread of the virus, a green dip-coating method is utilized in the current work to prepare antiviral Ag-based coatings to treat cotton…
A pilot phase Ib/II study of whole-lung low dose radiation therapy (LDRT) for the treatment of severe COVID-19 pneumonia: First experience from Africa - CONCLUSION: LDRT was feasible, safe and shows promise in the management of severe COVID-19 pneumonia including in patients progressing on conventional systemic treatment. Additional phase II trials are warranted to identify patients most likely to benefit from LDRT.
A novel platform for attenuating immune hyperactivity using EXO-CD24 in Covid-19 and beyond - A small but significant proportion of Covid19 patients develop life-threatening cytokine storm. We have developed a new anti-inflammatory drug, EXO-CD24, a combination of an immune checkpoint (CD24) and a delivery platform (exosomes). CD24 inhibits the NF-kB pathway and the production of cytokines/chemokines. EXO-CD24 discriminates Damage- from Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns (DAMPs and PAMPs) therefore does not interfere with viral clearance. EXO-CD24 was produced and purified from…
Antiviral effects of coinage metal-based nanomaterials to combat COVID-19 and its variants - The world has been suffering from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, and millions of people have been infected through human-to-human transmission and lost their lives within months. Although multidisciplinary scientific approaches have been employed to fight against this deadly pandemic, various mutations and diverse environments keep producing constraints in treating SARS-CoV-2. Indeed, the efficacy of the developed vaccines has been limited, and…
Cepharanthine: A Promising Old Drug against SARS-CoV-2 - Recently, the inhibiting effects of a clinically approved drug Cepharanthine on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have attracted widespread attention and discussion. However, the public does not understand the relevant research progress very well. This paper aims to introduce a brief history of studies on the effects of cepharanthine against SARS-CoV-2, including “discovery of anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of cepharanthine in vitro”, "potential mechanisms of cepharanthine…
Therapeutic role of traditionally used Indian medicinal plants and spices in combating COVID-19 pandemic situation - The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 is a big challenge and burning issue to the scientific community and doctors worldwide. Globally, COVID-19 has created a health disaster and adversely affects the economic growth. Although some vaccines have already emerged, no therapeutic medication has yet been approved by FDA for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Traditionally, we have been using different medicinal plants like neem, tulsi, tea, and many spices like garlic, ginger,…
Structure basis for inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 by the feline drug GC376 - No abstract
Artemisinin inhibits neutrophil and macrophage chemotaxis, cytokine production and NET release - Immune cell chemotaxis to the sites of pathogen invasion is critical for fighting infection, but in life-threatening conditions such as sepsis and Covid-19, excess activation of the innate immune system is thought to cause a damaging invasion of immune cells into tissues and a consequent excessive release of cytokines, chemokines and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). In these circumstances, tempering excessive activation of the innate immune system may, paradoxically, promote recovery. Here…
Effect of a 2-week interruption in methotrexate treatment versus continued treatment on COVID-19 booster vaccine immunity in adults with inflammatory conditions (VROOM study): a randomised, open label, superiority trial - BACKGROUND: Immunosuppressive treatments inhibit vaccine-induced immunity against SARS-CoV-2. We evaluated whether a 2-week interruption of methotrexate treatment immediately after the COVID-19 vaccine booster improved antibody responses against the S1 receptor-binding domain (S1-RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein compared with uninterrupted treatment in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.
The adverse inflammatory response of tobacco smoking in COVID-19 patients: biomarkers from proteomics and metabolomics - Whether tobacco smoking affects the occurrence and development of COVID-19 is still a controversial issue, and potential biomarkers to predict the adverse outcomes of smoking in the progression of COVID-19 patients have not yet been elucidated. To further uncover their linkage and explore the effective biomarkers, three proteomics and metabolomics databases (i.e. smoking status, COVID-19 status, and basic information of population) from human serum proteomic and metabolomic levels were…