Teen Suicide Plummeted During Covid-19 School Closures, New Study Finds
A new study has tied suicide rates among children and teenagers directly to the school calendar, suggesting that academic and social stressors can be blamed for an annual increase in fall and spring suicide attempts.
Wirksamkeit der Corona-Maßnahmen: Viel hilft viel, oder?
Eine Studie des Robert Koch-Instituts zeigt, dass die Lockdowns in Deutschland wirksam waren. So weit, so klar. Trotzdem fördert die Studie etwas Überraschendes zutage.
ED Visits and Hospitalizations for Suicidality Among Children and Adolescents in the US, 2016 to 2021
This cross-sectional study uses administrative health claims data for emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations to examine recent trends in suicidality rates, quantify the seasonality in suicidality, and demonstrate the disrupted seasonality patterns during the spring 2020...
Long-Term Cardiovascular Effects of COVID-19: Emerging Data Relevant to the Cardiovascular Clinician
Current Atherosclerosis Reports - COVID-19 is now a global pandemic and the illness affects multiple organ systems, including the cardiovascular system. Long-term cardiovascular consequences of...
Penn Medicine Discovery Clarifies the Problem of T-Cell “Exhaustion” - Penn Medicine
“Our findings suggest that once T cells become exhausted, they remain fundamentally ‘wired’ to be exhausted—thus it may be hard to get them to become effective virus- and cancer-fighters again,” said study senior author E. John Wherry, PhD.
Cardiac abnormalities in Long COVID 1- year post-SARS- CoV-2 infection
Long COVID is associated with multiple
symptoms and impairment in multiple organs. Cross-
sectional studies have reported cardiac impairment
to varying degrees by varying methodologies. Using
cardiac MR (CMR), we investigated a 12-month
trajectory of abnormalities in Long COVID.
Objectives To investigate cardiac abnormalities 1-year
post-SARS- CoV-2 infection. Results Technical success of multiorgan and
CMR assessment in non- acute settings was 99.1%
and 99.6% at baseline, and 98.3% and 98.8% at
follow- up. Of individuals with Long COVID, 102/534
(19%) had CMR abnormalities at baseline; 71/102
had complete paired data at 12 months. Of those,
58% presented with ongoing CMR abnormalities at
12 months. High sensitivity cardiac troponin I and
B- type natriuretic peptide were not predictive of
CMR findings, symptoms or clinical outcomes. At
baseline, low LVEF was associated with persistent
CMR abnormality, abnormal GLS associated with
low quality of life and abnormal T1 in at least
three segments was associated with better clinical
outcomes at 12 months.
Conclusion CMR abnormalities (left entricular
or right ventricular dysfunction/dilatation and/
or abnormal T1mapping), occurred in one in five
individuals with Long COVID at 6 months, persisting
in over half of those at 12 months. Cardiac-
related blood biomarkers could not identify CMR
abnormalities in Long COVID.
SARS-CoV-2 kann das gefürchtete Guillain-Barré-Syndrom auslösen
Anfang April wurde erstmals die Möglichkeit eines SARS-CoV-2-assoziierten Guillain-Barré-Syndroms (GBS) in 'Lancet Neurology' diskutiert [1]. Kurz darauf folgten zwei weitere Publikationen aus Europa, die ein GBS bzw. eine GBS-Variante bei COVID-19-Patienten beschreiben [2, 3]. Das GBS entsteht häufig in Folge von Infektionen, z.B. nach bakterieller Darminfektion oder Infektion mit dem Zytomegalievirus.
Thanks to Arlene Harris for great coverage in today's @BelTelGood grief, I wish Rosie and I didn't have to keep doing this. But until we have #CleanAirForAll, we will keep making #LongCovidKids. So we will keep going... pic.twitter.com/mwlWgJUyrP— Colin Pidgeon #CleanAirForAll #fblc (@baldypidge) July 11, 2023
Long COVID in Young Patients: Impact on Lung Volume Evaluated Using Multidetector CT
Purpose: To evaluate using quantitative analysis on chest CT images a possible lung volume reduction in Long COVID patients who complain mild respiratory symptoms, with chest CT negative for inflammatory findings. Materials and Methods: CT images of patients from 18 to 40 years old who underwent chest CT scan at our institution were analyzed retrospectively, using AwServer Thoracic VCAR software for a quantitative study. Exclusion criteria were inflammatory findings at CT, previous lung surgery, lung cancer, and breath artifacts that invalidate the quality of images. Patients were divided into two groups: in the first one (“post-COVID”) were patients who had previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, confirmed by an RT-PCR, who underwent chest CT from 3 to 6 months after their negativization for long COVID symptoms; in the control group (“non-COVID”), were enrolled patients who underwent a chest CT scan from January 2018 to December 2019, before the spread of COVID in Italy. Results: Our final population included 154 TC, 77 post-COVID patients (mean age 33 ± 6) and 77 non-COVID patients (mean age 33 ± 4.9). Non statistical significative differences were obtained between groups in terms of age, sex, and other characteristics that affect total lung capacity such as obesity, thoracic malformations, and smoking habit. Mean values of the total lung volume (TV), right-lung volume (RV), and left-lung volume (LV) in the post-COVID group compared with non-COVID group were, respectively: 5.25 ± 0.25 L vs. 5.72 ± 0.26 L (p = 0.01); 2.76 ± 0.14 L vs. 3 ± 0.14 L (p = 0.01); 2.48 ± 0.12 L vs. 2.72 ± 0.12 L (p = 0.01). Conclusion: In patients with symptoms suggesting Long COVID and negative chest CT macroscopic findings, quantitative volume analysis demonstrated a mean value of reduction in lung volume of 10% compared to patients of the same age who never had COVID. A chest CT negative for inflammatory findings may induce clinicians to attribute Long COVID mild respiratory symptoms to anxiety, especially in young patients. Our study brings us beyond appearances and beyond the classic radiological signs, introducing a quantitative evaluation of lung volumes in these patients. It is hard to establish to what extent this finding may contribute to Long COVID symptoms, but this is another step to gain a wider knowledge of the potential long-term effects caused by this new virus.
Real-time environmental surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 aerosols
Nature Communications - Rapid detection of respiratory pathogens circulating in indoor environments could facilitate improved infection prevention responses. In this proof-of-concept study, the...
Post COVID-19 symptoms are common, also among young adults in the general population
Scientific Reports - Post COVID-19 symptoms are common, also among young adults in the general population
The most common post COVID-19 symptoms were altered smell and taste (68.8%), dyspnea (33.7%) and fatigue (30.4%). Overall, no major risk factors for post COVID-19 were identified except for being bedbound during COVID-19. However, asthma and rhinitis were associated with the post COVID-19 symptom dyspnea, migraine with altered smell and taste, and lower self-rated health with fatigue. In conclusion, post COVID-19 symptoms are common, also among young adults in the general population. Although not life-threatening, it could have a considerable impact on public health due to the high prevalence and long-term symptoms.
Nature Reviews Materials - Lipid nanoparticle–mRNA formulations have entered the clinic as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines, marking an important milestone for mRNA therapeutics....
The protein expression profile of ACE2 in human tissues
The novel SARS-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) poses a global challenge on healthcare and society. For understanding the susceptibility for SARS-CoV-2 infection, the cell type-specific expression of the host cell surface receptor is necessary. The key protein suggested to be involved in host cell entry is angiotensin I converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Here, we report the expression pattern of ACE2 across 150 different cell types corresponding to all major human tissues and organs based on stringent immunohistochemical analysis. The results were compared with several datasets both on the mRNA and protein level. ACE2 expression was mainly observed in enterocytes, renal tubules, gallbladder, cardiomyocytes, male reproductive cells, placental trophoblasts, ductal cells, eye, and vasculature. In the respiratory system, the expression was limited, with no or only low expression in a subset of cells in a few individuals, observed by one antibody only. Our data constitute an important resource for further studies on SARS-CoV-2 host cell entry, in order to understand the biology of the disease and to aid in the development of effective treatments to the viral infection.
Syncytia formation by SARS-CoV-2-infected cells - PubMed
Severe cases of COVID-19 are associated with extensive lung damage and the presence of infected multinucleated syncytial pneumocytes. The viral and cellular mechanisms regulating the formation of these syncytia are not well understood. Here, we show that SARS-CoV-2-infected cells express the Spike p …
Increased risk of acute myocardial infarction after COVID-19 recovery: A systematic review and meta-analysis
To assess the incidence and risk of AMI in COVID-19 survivors after SARS-CoV-2 infection by a systematic review and meta-analysis of the available data.
Methods
Data were obtained searching MEDLINE and Scopus for all studies published at any time up to September 1, 2022 and reporting the risk of incident AMI in patients recovered from COVID-19 infection. AMI risk was evaluated using the Mantel–Haenszel random effects models with Hazard ratio (HR) as the effect measure with 95% confidence interval (CI) while heterogeneity was assessed using Higgins and Thomson I2 statistic.
Results
Among 2765 articles obtained by our search strategy, four studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria for a total of 20,875,843 patients (mean age 56.1 years, 59.1% males). Of them, 1,244,604 had COVID-19 infection. Over a mean follow-up of 8.5 months, among COVID-19 recovered patients AMI occurred in 3.5 cases per 1.000 individuals compared to 2.02 cases per 1.000 individuals in the control cohort, defined as those who did not experience COVID-19 infection in the same period). COVID-19 patients showed an increased risk of incident AMI (HR: 1.93, 95% CI: 1.65–2.26, p 0.0001, I2 = 83.5%). Meta-regression analysis demonstrated that the risk of AMI was directly associated with age (p = 0.01) and male gender (p = 0.001), while an indirect relationship was observed when the length of follow-up was utilized as moderator (p 0.001).
Conclusion
COVID-19 recovered patients had an increased risk of AMI.
Intracranial aneurysm rupture within three days after receiving mRNA anti-COVID-19 vaccination: Three case reports - PubMed
Although the advantages of COVID-19 vaccination appear to outweigh the risks, pharmacovigilance must be maintained to monitor potentially fatal adverse events and identify possible associations.
COVID: Jüngere und benachteiligte Kinder häufiger im Krankenhaus
»Von den 3,2 Millionen Kindern und Jugendlichen (0-17 Jahre) in England mit einer ersten COVID-Infektion in diesem Zeitraum wurden fast 30.000 ins Krankenhaus eingeliefert.«
Hospital admissions linked to SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and adolescents: cohort study of 3.2 million first ascertained infections in England
Objective To describe hospital admissions associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and adolescents. Design Cohort study of 3.2 million first ascertained SARS-CoV-2 infections using electronic health care record data. Setting England, July 2020 to February 2022. Participants About 12 million children and adolescents (age
Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences - Under physiological conditions, hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) in the bone marrow niches are responsible for the highly regulated and...
SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses wane profoundly in convalescent individuals 10 months after primary infection
A key question in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is the duration of specific T cell responses against the severe acute respiratory s…
Vagus Nerve Dysfunction in the Post-COVID-19 Condition
Background: The post-COVID-19 condition (PCC) is a disabling syndrome affecting 5-15% of subjects who survive COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 mediated vagus nerve dysfunct
Was SARS-CoV-2 dem Körper antut: Eine wachsende und unvollständige Übersicht
DMZ – POLITIK / WISSEN / GESUNDHEIT ¦ AA ¦ Der Beitrag im "Pandemic Accountability Index" (Pandemie-Verantwortlichkeitsindex) vom letzten November, in dem über hundert Studien und Artikel zu den Auswirkungen des SARS-CoV-2-Virus auf den Körper berichtet wurde, ist mittlerweile über sechs Monate alt. Seitdem wurden weitere Forschungsergebnisse veröffentlicht. Es ist daher an der Zeit, unser Verständnis dafür zu aktualisieren, warum es so wichtig ist, Infektionen mit diesem gefährlichen und behindernden Virus zu verhindern. Laut der Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO) leiden allein in Europa über 36 Millionen Menschen an Langzeitfolgen von COVID, einem Oberbegriff für zahlreiche medizinische Komplikationen. Diejenigen, die behauptet haben, dass SARS-CoV-2 relativ harmlos oder "mild" sei und COVID-19 "nur eine Erkältung/Grippe" sei, müssen sich mit der ständig wachsenden Anzahl wissenschaftlicher Forschungsergebnisse auseinandersetzen, die seitdem veröffentlicht wurden. Kinder und COVID: COVID-19 ist eine der häufigsten Todesursachen bei Kindern und Jugendlichen in den USA (University of Oxford). Anstieg von Diabetes bei Kindern und Jugendlichen (Jama Network). Auch milde Infektionen können zu langfristigen Folgen führen, einschließlich Long-COVID (University of Minnesota). Mehr als 70% der Haushaltsübertragungen von COVID in den USA gehen von Kindern aus (CIDRAP). Kinder können nach einer asymptomatischen oder milden COVID-19-Erkrankung langfristige Herzmuskeldeformationen entwickeln (MDPI Open Access Journals). Langzeitfolgen bei Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen nach mildem COVID-19 (Frontiers in Immunology). Einige Kinder zeigen nach einer COVID-19-Infektion Symptome wie Fieber, Erbrechen und Augenschmerzen (NHK). COVID-19 kann bei Kindern autoimmune Reaktionen auslösen (HCPLive). Erhöhte Raten von Asthma, Myokarditis, Diabetes und anderen Erkrankungen bei Kindern mit bestätigtem COVID-19 (Medical Journal of Australia). Über 30% der Kinder zeigen auch nach 2 Monaten noch Symptome, und 2,3% haben nach 6 Monaten immer noch anhaltende Symptome (Frontiers in Pediatrics). Das Immunsystem von Kindern entwickelt keine "adaptiven" Erinnerungen, die vor einer erneuten SARS-CoV-2-Infektion schützen (Garvan Institute of Medical Research). Die Prävalenz von Langzeitfolgen bei COVID-19 liegt bei 23,36% (ScienceDirect). Die Omikron-Variante verursacht siebenmal mehr Todesfälle bei hospitalisierten Kindern als die Influenza (South China Morning Post). In Ohio haben zwischen 30.000 und 70.000 Kinder Long COVID (US News). COVID-19 kann zu Herzerkrankungen bei Kindern führen (MDPI Open Access Journals). Entzündliche Erkrankungen bei Kindern nach COVID-19 (ScienceDirect). Neurologische Komplikationen nach COVID-19 bei Kindern (American Academy of Pediatrics). Augenmanifestationen von COVID-19 bei Kindern (SageJournals). Beeinträchtigungen der Gesundheit bei Kindern und Jugendlichen nach einer COVID-19-Erkrankung (American Academy of Pediatrics). Nahezu alle mit COVID-19 infizierten Kinder zeigen Anzeichen von Schädigung der Blutgefäße (Blood Advances). Eine Studie zeigt, dass vorherige COVID-19-Infektionen mit einem signifikant erhöhten Risiko für RSV-Infektionen bei Kindern in Verbindung gebracht werden (medRxiv). Zwischen 12 und 16% der Kinder und Jugendlichen, die mit Omikron infiziert waren, erfüllen die Definition von Long COVID (Journal of Pediatrics). Diabetes-Typ-1-Inzidenz und -Risiko bei Kindern mit einer COVID-19-Diagnose (Jama Network). Prävalenz von Long COVID bei Kindern und Jugendlichen beträgt 25,24%, am häufigsten mit Stimmungssymptomen (Nature). Ungewöhnlicher Anstieg von Hirnabszessen bei amerikanischen Kindern (CDC). Veränderte Verformung der roten Blutkörperchen bei Kindern und Jugendlichen nach SARS-CoV-2-Infektion (Nature). Kinder haben ein ähnliches Risiko für Langzeitfolgen von Long COVID bei einer erneuten Infektion wie bei der Erstinfektion (Journal of Pediatrics). SARS-CoV-2 kann sich über Wochen bis Monate systemisch ausbreiten und persistieren, unabhängig von der Schwere der Erkrankung (Lancet). Originallinks: COVID-19 is a leading cause of death in children and young people in the US (University of Oxford) Surge in child and teen diabetes (Jama Network) “Two US studies describe pediatric COVID...7.0% of hospitalized children developed neurologic complications such as seizures...even mild infections can lead to long COVID.” (University of Minnesota) More than 70% of US household COVID spread started with a child (CIDRAP) "Persistence of LV myocardial deformation abnormalities in previously healthy children with an asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic COVID-19 course after an average follow-up of 148 ± 68 days.” (MDPI Open Access Journals) “Inflammatory markers and pulmonary function in adolescents and young adults 6 months after mild COVID-19” (Frontiers in Immunology) “Fever, vomiting, and eye pain are a few of the symptoms afflicting a small number of children after they have been infected with COVID-19.” (NHK) COVID-19 May Trigger Autoimmune Responses in Children (HCPLive) “…increased rates of asthma, myocarditis and cardiomyopathy, cardiac dysrhythmias, diabetes, renal failure, venous thromboembolism, and coagulation disorders in children with laboratory‐confirmed COVID‐19 compared with children without COVID‐19.” (Medical Journal of Australia) “32.6% of the children had persistent symptoms at 2 months, 9.3% at 4 months, and 2.3% at 6 months” (Frontiers in Pediatrics) Children’s immune systems do not develop ‘adaptive’ memory to protect against second time SARS-CoV-2 infection (Garvan Institute of Medical Research) Based on 40 studies with 12,424 individuals, the pooled prevalence of any long COVID was 23.36 % (ScienceDirect) “Omicron strain causes 7 times more deaths among hospitalised children than influenza” (South China Morning Post) “In Ohio, between 30,000 and 70,000 children have long COVID.” (US News) COVID-19 Heart Lesions in Children: Clinical, Diagnostic and Immunological Changes (MDPI Open Access Journals) Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: A dysregulated autoimmune disorder following COVID-19 (ScienceDirect) COVID-19 and Acute Neurologic Complications in Children (American Academy of Pediatrics) Ocular manifestations of COVID-19 in pediatric patients (SageJournals) Health Impairments in Children and Adolescents After Hospitalization for Acute COVID-19 or MIS-C (American Academy of Pediatrics) "Virtually all children infected with COVID-19 show signs of blood vessel damage" (Blood Advances) "Findings from our study support that prior COVID-19 infection was associated with a significantly increased risk for RSV infection and was a driving force for the 2022 surge of severe pediatric RSV cases in the US." (medRxiv) “12-16% children and youth infected with Omicron met the research definition of #LongCovid at 3 and 6 months after infection, with no evidence of difference between cases of first-positive and reinfection” (Journal of Pediatrics) Type 1 Diabetes Incidence and Risk in Children With a Diagnosis of COVID-19 (Jama Network) Long-COVID in children and adolescents: prevalence of long-COVID was 25.24%, most prevalent clinical: mood symptoms (16.50%) - (Nature) Abnormal Surge of Brain Abscesses in American Children, CDC Says (ScienceAlert) Increased red blood cell deformation in children and adolescents after SARS-CoV-2 infection (Nature) Children are at as much risk of Long COVID disability from reinfection as they are from primary infection (Journal of Pediatrics) “in children, independent from disease severity, SARS-CoV-2 can spread systemically and persist for weeks to months.” (Lancet) NEUROLOGISCHE BEEINTRÄCHTIGUNGEN: Geruchs- und Geschmacksstörungen nach COVID-19 (BMJ). Neuropsychologische Defizite bei Patienten mit anhaltenden COVID-19-Symptomen (Nature). Neuroinflammation nach COVID-19 mit anhaltenden depressiven und kognitiven Symptomen (JAMA Psychiatry). SARS-CoV-2 fördert die Beseitigung synaptischer Verbindungen durch Mikrogliazellen im menschlichen Gehirn (Nature). Langfristige Auswirkungen von COVID-19 auf kognitive Funktionen bis zu 6 Monate nach der Entlassung: Rolle von Depressionen und Auswirkungen auf die Lebensqualität (Springer Link). SARS-CoV-2 ist mit Veränderungen der Gehirnstruktur verbunden (Nature). Jeder vierte Patient zeigt kognitive Defizite nach einem milden COVID-19-Verlauf (NIH). Neurokognitive und psychiatrische Symptome nach COVID-19-Infektion: Nachweise aus Labor- und Bevölkerungsstudien (ScienceDirect). COVID-19 und kognitive Beeinträchtigungen: Neuroinvasive und Blut-Hirn-Schrankenstörungen (Journal of Neuroinflammation). COVID-19 kann dazu führen, dass Gehirnzellen abnormal fusionieren und Beeinträchtigungen der Gehirnfunktion verursachen, bei 10% der untersuchten Fälle kommt die neuronale Aktivität vollständig zum Stillstand (ScienceAdvances). COVID-19 kann auch durch Hyperaktivierung der Immunantwort, Zelltod oder Entzündungen verschiedene Hirnregionen beeinträchtigen und zu Gedächtnisstörungen führen (CIDRAP). Rasche Verschlechterung der Demenz nach COVID-19 (NIH). Originallinks: Smell and taste dysfunction after covid-19 (BMJ) Neuropsychological deficits in patients with persistent COVID-19 symptoms (Nature) Neuroinflammation After COVID-19 With Persistent Depressive and Cognitive Symptoms (JAMA Psychiatry) SARS-CoV-2 promotes microglial synapse elimination in human brain organoids (Nature) Long-term consequences of COVID-19 on cognitive functioning up to 6 months after discharge: role of depression and impact on quality of life (Springer Link) SARS-CoV-2 is associated with changes in brain structure (Nature) 1 in 4 Showing Cognitive Deficits After Mild Case (NIH) Neurocognitive and psychiatric symptoms following infection with COVID-19: Evidence from laboratory and population studies (ScienceDirect) COVID-19 and cognitive impairment: neuroinvasive and blood‒brain barrier dysfunction (Journal of Neuroinflammation) Covid cause...
