Immune System News and Research

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BMI should be assessed in management of COVID-19 patients

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in June 2020 reports that obesity is a risk factor of composite poor outcome of COVID-19 disease. On the other hand, COVID-19 patients with 'composite poor outcome' have higher BMI. Therefore, BMI should be assessed in the management of COVID-19 patients, and special attention should be given to patients with obesity.

1 Jul 2020

Potential new biomarker could improve COVID-19 diagnosis

Researchers at Montpellier University Hospital have discovered that an interferon-inducible receptor expressed on monocytes could be a useful biomarker for the rapid triaging of patients suspected to have severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

30 Jun 2020

COVID-19 patients' blood can help identify people at greatest risk of severe illness

Doctors can examine COVID-19 patients' blood to identify those at greatest risk of severe illness and to pinpoint those most likely to need a ventilator, new research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine suggests.

30 Jun 2020

COVID-19 triggers changes in blood platelets

Changes in blood platelets triggered by COVID-19 could contribute to the onset of heart attacks, strokes, and other serious complications in some patients who have the disease, according to University of Utah Health scientists.

30 Jun 2020

New vaccination strategy targets toxic molecules released by all Staphylococcal bacteria

Experiments in mice have shown early success in vaccinating them against potentially deadly bacterial infections, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcal aureus, or MRSA, the strain resistant to most drug treatments.

30 Jun 2020

Salk Institute expands research to find treatments and cures for COVID-19

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues across the globe, the Salk Institute joins in efforts to understand the fundamental science behind the novel coronavirus to pave the way to treatments and cures.

30 Jun 2020

Newly identified molecules can help develop COVID-19 therapeutics

SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus causing the global COVID-19 pandemic, uses a protein called polymerase to replicate its genome inside infected human cells.

30 Jun 2020

Researchers develop new coatings for implants to make them more compatible

New coatings on implants could help make them more compatible. Researchers at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) have developed a new method of applying anti-inflammatory substances to implants in order to inhibit undesirable inflammatory reactions in the body.

30 Jun 2020

Study: Even the sickest COVID-19 patients produce T cells that help fight the virus

A new study from researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) and Erasmus University Medical Center (Erasmus MC) shows that even the sickest COVID-19 patients produce T cells that help fight the virus.

30 Jun 2020

Overactive neutrophils may drive life-threatening blood clots in some COVID-19 patients

Scientists have new evidence that overactive neutrophils--a common type of circulating immune cell--may drive the life-threatening blood clots and inflammation that occur in some patients with COVID-19.

29 Jun 2020

Clinically approved drugs could disrupt SARS-CoV-2 from hijacking cells

An international team of researchers has analyzed how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, hijacks the proteins in its target cells.

29 Jun 2020

RCSI begins clinical trial of promising therapy for critically ill COVID-19 patients

Clinician scientists at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences have begun a clinical trial of a promising therapy for critically ill COVID-19 patients in intensive care.

29 Jun 2020

Live attenuated vaccines may prevent lung inflammation and sepsis associated with COVID-19

A paper published by Paul Fidel, Jr., PhD, Professor and Director of the Center of Excellence in Oral and Craniofacial Biology and Associate Dean for Research at LSU Health New Orleans School of Dentistry, and Mairi Noverr, PhD, Professor of Microbiology & Immunology at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, suggests that live attenuated vaccines such as MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) may prevent the severe lung inflammation and sepsis associated with COVID-19 infection.

26 Jun 2020

Timing of antibody testing is critical for accurate COVID-19 detection

Scientists have analysed data from around the world to examine the accuracy of antibody tests for COVID-19, and have shown that the timing of testing is critical. The tests do not work accurately when administered at the wrong time.

26 Jun 2020

International study uncovers three molecules with potential for treating epilepsy

A major international study has uncovered three molecules that have the potential to be developed into new drugs to treat epilepsy.

26 Jun 2020

Understanding dexamethasone’s role in treating COVID-19

While the steroid medicine dexamethasone may help people with serious COVID-19 illness, it should only be given to people very ill in hospital and shouldn’t be taken by anyone to try to prevent COVID-19 or for less severe cases.

26 Jun 2020

Seniors in low-income housing live in fear of COVID infection

Davetta Brooks, 75, who has heart failure, a fractured hip and macular degeneration, is afraid. Conditions in her low-income senior building on Chicago's Near West Side — the Congressman George W. Collins Apartments — are "deplorable," she said.

26 Jun 2020

Vitamin D supplements may help prevent serious side effect of anti-cancer therapy

New research indicates that taking vitamin D supplements may help prevent a potentially serious side effect of a revolutionary form of anti-cancer therapy. The findings are published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

26 Jun 2020

Antibody tests may give false hope of immunity, health experts warn

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, health experts warn against the use of antibody tests to determine if a person has immunity against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). An antibody test determines if a person developed antibodies against the infection due to past exposure.

26 Jun 2020

Irritable bowel disease heightens the risk of dementia

Scientists have long explored the link between the gut and the brain. Now, a new study shows that older adults with chronic inflammation of the digestive tract may develop dementia more than seven years earlier than those who do not have the condition.

26 Jun 2020

Immune System News and Research

BMI should be assessed in management of COVID-19 patients

Potential new biomarker could improve COVID-19 diagnosis

COVID-19 patients' blood can help identify people at greatest risk of severe illness

COVID-19 triggers changes in blood platelets

New vaccination strategy targets toxic molecules released by all Staphylococcal bacteria

Salk Institute expands research to find treatments and cures for COVID-19

Newly identified molecules can help develop COVID-19 therapeutics

Researchers develop new coatings for implants to make them more compatible

Study: Even the sickest COVID-19 patients produce T cells that help fight the virus

Overactive neutrophils may drive life-threatening blood clots in some COVID-19 patients

Clinically approved drugs could disrupt SARS-CoV-2 from hijacking cells

RCSI begins clinical trial of promising therapy for critically ill COVID-19 patients

Live attenuated vaccines may prevent lung inflammation and sepsis associated with COVID-19

Timing of antibody testing is critical for accurate COVID-19 detection

International study uncovers three molecules with potential for treating epilepsy

Understanding dexamethasone’s role in treating COVID-19

Seniors in low-income housing live in fear of COVID infection

Vitamin D supplements may help prevent serious side effect of anti-cancer therapy

Antibody tests may give false hope of immunity, health experts warn

Irritable bowel disease heightens the risk of dementia

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