(Reuters) – The following is a summary of some of the latest scientific studies on the new coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
Half a year later, patients with COVID-19 still have symptoms
Most patients hospitalized with COVID-19 have at least one symptom six months after becoming ill, according to a study in Wuhan, China, where the new coronavirus first appeared in late 2019. Doctors there followed 1,733 patients. who were diagnosed and hospitalized between January, 2020 and May. Six months later, 76% had at least one symptom, including fatigue or muscle weakness (seen in 63%), difficulty sleeping, and anxiety or depression. Most of those who had been seriously ill had ongoing lung problems and chest abnormalities that could indicate organ damage, while 13% of patients whose kidneys functioned normally in the hospital developed kidney problems later, the researchers reported Friday. in The Lancet. “We are just beginning to understand” some of the long-term effects of COVID-19, said co-author Bin Cao of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing in a statement. “Our analysis indicates that most patients continue to experience at least some of the effects of the virus after leaving the hospital,” emphasizing the need for post-discharge care. (bit.ly/39hUKS2)
Interferon stimulates proteins that deny entry into the coronavirus
An experimental inhaled form of interferon tested to treat inpatients with COVID-19 may not have a limitation that researchers feared. A potential problem with interferon is that it increases the level of a protein called ACE2, which the new coronavirus uses as an entry into cells. In test tube experiments, the researchers looked at cells that line the pathway from the nose to the lungs and found that there are actually two forms of ACE2 – the well-known and a short form that does not have the input used by the virus. Interferon increases the short form of ACE2, but not the longer form, they found, which means it does not appear to stimulate entry points for the virus. “We were thrilled to discover a new form of ACE2,” said Dr. Jane Lucas of the University of Southampton, who co-led the study reported Monday in Nature Genetics. “We believe this may have important implications for the management of COVID-19 infection.” An inhaled interferon from Synairgen Plc is being tested in late-stage studies. (go.nature.com/3oBO9Z0)
Saliva viral load improves the prediction of COVID-19 severity
The amount of new coronavirus in saliva could help guide patients’ care because it is a better predictor of disease progression than the viral load from tampon samples obtained from the nose and back of the neck, the researchers said. They studied 26 patients with slightly ill COVID-19, 154 hospitalized patients – including 63 who became critically ill and 23 who eventually died – and 108 uninfected people. Saliva viral load, but not nasopharyngeal viral load, has been linked to COVID-19 risk factors such as age and sex and immune responses. The viral load of saliva was also higher than the nasopharyngeal viral load in predicting critical illness and death, the researchers reported on medRxiv on Wednesday before the peer review. Saliva contains inhaled germs that are eliminated from the lungs through the body’s protective mechanisms, co-author Akiko Iwasaki of Yale University explained on Sunday. The viral load of saliva therefore reflects how well the virus makes its own copies throughout the airways, from the nose to the lungs and not just in the nose and behind the neck, Iwasaki said. (bit.ly/3i1KpO9)
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Reporting by Nancy Lapid; Editing by Bill Berkrot