(Reuters) – The following is a summary of some of the most recent clinical studies on the new coronavirus and efforts for remedies and vaccines that oppose COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
Coronavirus discovered in central muscle cells
The new coronavirus, which has already been detected in some central tissues, can also invade the cell phones of the central muscle, or myocytes, the researchers have discovered. In Brazil, doctors discovered the virus in the heart myocytes of an 11-year-old with a COVID-19-related multisiste inflammatory syndrome that died from center failure, according to a report published in The Lancet Child – Adolescent Health. In Italy, six adults who died from COVID-19 respiratory failure had an active coronavirus in cardiac myocytes, with varying degrees of myocytic injury and mobile death, doctors reported Wednesday at medRxiv prior to peer review. None of the Italian patients had heart symptoms or a history of central disease. Italian doctors report that 40% of patients recovered from the genetically connected SARS virus outbreak in 2002-2003 subsequently developed cardiovascular abnormalities. The new findings, they say, recommend that patients with recovered COVID-19 be monitored for central disorders, even if they do not appear to be at risk, “since the long-term cardiovascular final results of COVID-19 patients would possibly reflect SARS patients. ” (bit.ly/34BBZs2; bit.ly/34A4M0c)
Gender in COVID-19 deaths is similar to immune responses
Women’s immune system would possibly induce more appropriate responses to coronavirus, suggests a small study, which offers a clue as to why COVID-19 has a tendency to be more severe in men. Among the 98 older adults who were most often hospitalized by mild or moderate COVID-19, women generally had more “robust” and “backed” attacks against the virus through the T cells of their immune system, researchers reported Wednesday in Nature. Poor T-cell responses in men were related to worse outcomes, they found. There were also gender differences in the production of signaling molecules, called chemokcins and cytokines, that recruit immune cells to inflammation sites. On average, men had higher grades of these molecules, however, when women had higher grades, they tended to act poorly. The findings “provide a vital basis for the progression of a gender-based technique for the remedy and care of men and women with COVID-19,” the researchers said. Men can gain advantages from treatments that stimulate their T cells’ responses, while women can gain advantages from treatments that decrease the signaling molecule’s response, they said. (go.nature.com/2Ewvxrj)
Hormones would possibly contribute to women’s survival gain advantages in COVID-19
Sex hormones would possibly contribute to gender differences in COVID-19 mortality, new studies suggest. While women have lower COVID-19 mortality rates than men, the difference is narrower for older men and women. Levels of the female hormone estradiol, which are naturally higher in younger women, may also contribute to this pattern. Researchers studied electronic physical fitness records of approximately 37,000 COVID-19 patients from 17 countries, comparing pre and postmenopausal women and taking into account the use of oestradiol in contraceptives or hormone replacement treatment (HRT). Contraceptive drugs have not been linked to a significant effect on the threat of COVID-19 mortality. But in women over the age of 50, those receiving THS with estradiol had a death threat from coronavirus two-thirds less than those who did not use them in this age group. The study does not show that HRT is the cause of the least threat. In their report published on medRxiv on Monday before peer review, researchers cautioned that hormones can have side effects and that women deserve not to start using them alone. Researchers are asking for extensive prospective trials to verify the theory that treatment with oestradiol may also help decrease the death threat of older women with COVID-19. (bit.ly/34EtFrt)
Food additives can make pandemic dentist visits safer
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Reporting through Nancy Lapid; Editing through Bill Berkrot
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