Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Lessons learnt from the annual influenza season

Australian researchers have come up with two key recommendations from studies of the annual influenza season - one highlighting the benefits of antivirals in reducing repeat hospitalisation, and the other to watch for underlying cardiovascular disease.

12 Feb 2021

Study sheds light on the recurrence of herpes simplex virus

Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have shed light on what causes herpes simplex virus to flare up, explaining how stress, illness and even sunburn can trigger unwanted outbreaks.

12 Feb 2021

Reparations before COVID-19 pandemic could have reduced infections, deaths in the U.S.

Civil rights activists have long called for monetary reparations to the Black descendants of Africans enslaved in the United States as a financial, moral, and ethical form of restitution for the injustices of slavery.

12 Feb 2021

Statins shown to reduce COVID-19 severity and lower mortality

Much attention has been focused on ways to reduce the deadly exaggeration of normal inflammatory reactions to this pathogen. A new research paper posted to the medRxiv* preprint server describes the alleviation of hyper-inflammatory phenomena following the administration of statins, drugs more widely known for their use in reducing blood cholesterol levels, to patients with COVID-19.

11 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2 evolves antibody resistance in immunocompromised patient

Researchers in the United States who tracked the evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in an immunocompromised patient found that convalescent plasma therapy was associated with the emergence of viral variants that were less susceptible to neutralizing antibodies.

11 Feb 2021

Study: Risk of death from COVID-19 is 3.5 times higher than from influenza

A new study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) found that the risk of death from COVID-19 was 3.5 times higher than from influenza.

11 Feb 2021

1918 pandemic provides a cautionary tale of potential future pandemic

The 1918 influenza pandemic provides a cautionary tale for what the future may hold for COVID-19, says a Michigan State University researcher.

10 Feb 2021

Metabolomics and machine learning used to identify possible COVID-19 biomarkers

One of the many mysteries still surrounding COVID-19 is why some people experience only mild, flu-like symptoms, whereas others suffer life-threatening respiratory problems, vascular dysfunction and tissue damage.

10 Feb 2021

Obesity, age and COVID-19 infection can make someone a super-spreader of SARS-CoV-2

Scientists and public health experts have long known that certain individuals, termed "super-spreaders," can transmit COVID-19 with incredible efficiency and devastating consequences.

10 Feb 2021

Exposure to seasonal coronaviruses does not produce antibodies that protect against SARS-CoV-2

Past exposure to seasonal coronaviruses (CoVs), which cause the common cold, does not result in the production of antibodies that protect against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, according to a study led by Scott Hensley, PhD, an associate professor of Microbiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

10 Feb 2021

Lung ultrasound helps predict clinical progression of severe COVID-19 patients

Lung ultrasound, considered a simple method for diagnosing lung disease, can also help predict the clinical progression of severe COVID-19 patients, according to a study conducted at the University of São Paulo's Medical School in São Paulo City, Brazil.

10 Feb 2021

Substrain of SARS-CoV-2 variant in UK may resist antibody neutralization

Researchers at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw have identified a substrain of the recently emerged B.1.1.7 variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that may confer resistance to antibody neutralization.

10 Feb 2021

Researchers identify top-performing COVID-19 POC tests

After screening more than 1,100 independently assessed, point-of-care COVID-19 tests, researchers at NSF International and Novateur Ventures have identified 5 direct (antigen/RNA) tests for detection of acute infection and 6 indirect (antibody) tests for detection of prior infection that meet the recently published World Health Organization (WHO) "desirable" Target Product Profile (TPP) criteria.

10 Feb 2021

Some COVID-19 patients experience persistent chronic fatigue six months after infection, finds study

Scientists from Germany recently revealed that almost 50% of patients present with moderate to severe chronic fatigue syndrome six months after SARS-CoV-2 infection.

10 Feb 2021

Could a SARS-CoV-2 accessory protein be responsible for certain COVID-19 symptoms?

Researchers highlight the potential causes of some COVID-19 symptoms. Early in the pandemic, the hallmark symptoms of COVID-19 include cough, fever, and shortness of breath. As the pandemic has evolved, more symptoms have emerged, such as loss of smell and taste, headache, intestinal issues, and abdominal pains.

10 Feb 2021

Study finds low SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses in asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 cases

Researchers at Northwestern University have noted high rates of asymptomatic and mild infection in a large community-based cohort and low levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G antibody (IgG) in the general population of previously exposed people.

10 Feb 2021

Potential treatment strategies for patients suffering long-term COVID-19 symptoms

A new paper in Oxford Open Immunology, published by Oxford University Press, examines prior findings in the field of neuroimmunology that suggest potential treatment strategies for patients suffering long-term symptoms from COVID-19.

10 Feb 2021

Smartphones could help manage chronic cardiopulmonary disease, predict next pandemic

Photoplethysmography (PPG) is a simple optical technique used to detect volumetric changes in peripheral blood circulation. It's used in smart watches, for example, to monitor pulse and heart rate, but PPG biosensors are also found in millions of smartphones, but without any current clinical applications.

10 Feb 2021

Scientists urge health agencies to invest in COVID-19 vaccine development to prevent next pandemic

As new COVID-19 variants begin to throw vaccine efficacy in question, two leading scientists are calling for health agencies to invest in the development of vaccines that would be broadly effective against many different variants and strains of potential pandemic viruses.

10 Feb 2021

Relaxed control measures are driving wintertime outbreaks of COVID-19

Wintertime outbreaks of COVID-19 have been largely driven by whether people adhere to control measures such as mask wearing and social distancing, according to a study published Feb. 8 in Nature Communications by Princeton University researchers.

10 Feb 2021

Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Lessons learnt from the annual influenza season

Study sheds light on the recurrence of herpes simplex virus

Reparations before COVID-19 pandemic could have reduced infections, deaths in the U.S.

Statins shown to reduce COVID-19 severity and lower mortality

SARS-CoV-2 evolves antibody resistance in immunocompromised patient

Study: Risk of death from COVID-19 is 3.5 times higher than from influenza

1918 pandemic provides a cautionary tale of potential future pandemic

Metabolomics and machine learning used to identify possible COVID-19 biomarkers

Obesity, age and COVID-19 infection can make someone a super-spreader of SARS-CoV-2

Exposure to seasonal coronaviruses does not produce antibodies that protect against SARS-CoV-2

Lung ultrasound helps predict clinical progression of severe COVID-19 patients

Substrain of SARS-CoV-2 variant in UK may resist antibody neutralization

Researchers identify top-performing COVID-19 POC tests

Some COVID-19 patients experience persistent chronic fatigue six months after infection, finds study

Could a SARS-CoV-2 accessory protein be responsible for certain COVID-19 symptoms?

Study finds low SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses in asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 cases

Potential treatment strategies for patients suffering long-term COVID-19 symptoms

Smartphones could help manage chronic cardiopulmonary disease, predict next pandemic

Scientists urge health agencies to invest in COVID-19 vaccine development to prevent next pandemic

Relaxed control measures are driving wintertime outbreaks of COVID-19

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

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