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A traditional Chinese medicine could help treat COVID‐19 symptoms

A team of researchers in China – at Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine and Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine – recently explored the therapeutic properties of Yinqiao powder in treating COVID-19 symptoms. Their findings were recently published in Phytotherapy Research.

22 Jan 2021

Accurate quantitative COVID-19 antibody test kit by EKF

EKF Diagnostics, the global in vitro diagnostics company, announces that it has introduced one of the first tests to precisely measure levels of COVID-19 neutralizing antibodies in individuals.

From EKF Diagnostics 22 Jan 2021

Study highlights link between obesity, impaired metabolic health, and COVID-19 severity

In a Nature Reviews Endocrinology article authors from the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) highlight the interconnection of obesity and impaired metabolic health with the severity of COVID-19.

22 Jan 2021

SMART recovery groups provide addiction services during COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has created new perils and challenges for people experiencing substance use disorders and addictive behaviors. Social distancing and isolation can trigger loneliness, anxiety, and depression.

22 Jan 2021

Vaccinating people over 60 is the most effective way to mitigate COVID-19 mortality

Vaccinating people over 60 is the most effective way to mitigate mortality from COVID-19, a new age-based modeling study suggests.

22 Jan 2021

Infusion of convalescent blood plasma benefits patient with severe COVID-19

A 72-year-old woman was hospitalized with severe COVID-19 disease, 33 days after the onset of symptoms.

22 Jan 2021

People with severe COVID-19 cases may have more protective "memory" T cells

A big question on people's minds these days: how long does immunity to SARS-CoV-2 last following infection?

22 Jan 2021

Two out of five U.S. adults missed medical care in the early phase of pandemic

Two out of five individuals delayed or missed medical care in the early phase of the pandemic--from March through mid-July 2020--according to a new survey from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

22 Jan 2021

Trial results support efficacy of incentivizing vaccine adherence

As the United States struggles to control record-breaking increases in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, the roll-out of two approved vaccines offers tremendous hope for saving lives and curbing the pandemic.

22 Jan 2021

New SERS-based sensor can detect influenza A viral pathogens with high reproducibility

Respiratory diseases like influenza can spread rapidly and escalate to global health crises. Thus, to control them, simple yet sensitive detection techniques are needed. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a potential candidate but currently lacks reproducibility.

22 Jan 2021

New model shows key role of innate immunity in controlling COVID-19 viral load

Since SARS-CoV-2 was identified in December 2019, researchers have worked feverishly to study the novel coronavirus. Although much knowledge has been gained, scientists still have a lot to learn about how SARS-CoV-2 interacts with the human body, and how the immune system fights it.

21 Jan 2021

New data on impact of spike mutations and B117 UK variant on neutralization by mAbs and sera

A recent paper by British and Dutch scientists, currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server, shows that the neutralizing activity of monoclonal antibodies can be dramatically reduced by mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein – unlike polyclonal antibodies generated after natural infection that remain active regardless of any introduced amino acid changes.

21 Jan 2021

SARS-CoV-2 variants appear to arise independently of local transmission

Researchers at the University of Michigan in the United States have cautioned against only using within-host minor genetic variations to resolve the genomic epidemiology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

21 Jan 2021

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shows reduced neutralization potential against SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 spike variant

Researchers in the UK have conducted a study assessing the efficacy of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine BNT162b2 against the new variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

21 Jan 2021

Older age may offer a buffer against negative feelings brought on by the pandemic

Older adults are managing the stress of the coronavirus pandemic better than younger adults, reporting less depression and anxiety despite also experiencing greater general concern about COVID-19, according to a study recently published by researchers at the UConn School of Nursing.

21 Jan 2021

COVID-19, influenza and suicide are responsible for deaths of ICE detainees

Thirty-five people have died in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since April 2018, with a seven-fold increase in deaths even as the average daily population decreased by nearly a third between 2019 and 2020, a new USC study shows.

21 Jan 2021

SARS-CoV-2 suppresses host innate immunity

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, blocks the processes of innate immune activation that normally direct the production and/or signaling of type I interferon (IFN-I) by the infected cell and tissues.

21 Jan 2021

FDA approves first injectable, complete regimen for HIV-1 infection in adults

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Cabenuva (cabotegravir and rilpivirine, injectable formulation) as a complete regimen for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in adults to replace a current antiretroviral regimen in those who are virologically suppressed on a stable antiretroviral regimen with no history of treatment failure and with no known or suspected resistance to either cabotegravir or rilpivirine.

21 Jan 2021

Study: COVID-19 is dangerous not only for the elderly but for middle-aged adults

COVID-19 has been spreading rapidly over the past several months, and the U.S. death toll has now reached 400,000.

21 Jan 2021

Researchers use SARS-CoV-2 to bioengineer universal vaccine platform

Using SARS-CoV-2, a team of scientists from the United States has recently developed a bioengineered bacteriophage T4 nanoparticle structure using CRISPR technology that can be used as a universal platform to produce vaccines.

21 Jan 2021