Covid19-Sources

COVID-19 kann zahlreiche Organe betreffen – aber begünstigt die Erkrankung auch kardiovaskuläre Ereignisse? Die bisher größte Analyse zum Thema, die

This work can help explain why some people continue to test positive for COVID-19 months after their infection seems to have resolved. | Coronavirus

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and long COVID patients have overlapping neurological, autonomic, pain, and post-exertional symptoms. We compared volumes of brainstem regions for 10 ME/CFS (CCC or ICC criteria), 8 long COVID (WHO Delphi consensus), and 10 healthy control (HC) subjects on 3D, T1-weighted MRI images acquired using sub-millimeter isotropic resolution using an ultra-high field strength of 7 Tesla. Group comparisons with HC detected significantly larger volumes in ME/CFS for pons (p = 0.004) and whole brainstem (p = 0.01), and in long COVID for pons (p = 0.003), superior cerebellar peduncle (p = 0.009), and whole brainstem (p = 0.005). No significant differences were found between ME/CFS and long COVID volumes. In ME/CFS, we detected positive correlations between the pons and whole brainstem volumes with “pain” and negative correlations between the midbrain and whole brainstem volumes with “breathing difficulty.” In long COVID patients a strong negative relationship was detected between midbrain volume and “breathing difficulty.” Our study demonstrated an abnormal brainstem volume in both ME/CFS and long COVID consistent with the overlapping symptoms.

Profound immune dysregulation and inflammation points a finger at a viral reservoir, viral reactivation or autoimmunity in long COVID.

As an important part of adaptive immunity, T cells are indispensable in the defense against pathogens including viruses. SARS-CoV-2 is a new human coronavirus that occurred at the end of 2019 and has caused the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, most of the infected patients recovered without any antiviral therapies, suggesting an effective immunity developed in the bodies. T cell immunity responds upon SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination and plays crucial roles in eliminating the viruses and generating T cell memory. Specifically, a subpopulation of CD4+ T cells could support the production of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, and cytotoxic CD8+ T cells are also protective against the infection. SARS-CoV-2–recognizing T cells could be detected in SARS-CoV-2–unexposed donors, but the role of these cross-reactive T cells is still in debate. T cell responses could be diverse across individuals, mainly due to the polymorphism of HLAs. Thus, compared to antibodies, T cell responses are generally less affected by the mutations of SARS-CoV-2 variants. Up to now, a huge number of studies on SARS-CoV-2–responsive T cells have been published. In this review, we introduced some major findings addressing the questions in the main aspects about T cell responses elicited by SARS-CoV-2, to summarize the current understanding of COVID-19.

Nature Medicine - With the lifting of the zero-COVID policy and requirements governing reporting case numbers in China, it has become imperative to estimate the dynamics and cumulative infection...

TOKYO -- Nerve disorder symptoms experienced by some COVID-19 patients may be caused by the infection of immune system cells that clean up the brain, ･･･

COVID-19 causes neurological damage, systemic inflammation, and immune cell abnormalities. COVID-19-induced neurological impairment may be caused by s…

Journal of Molecular Medicine - Studies showed that SARS-CoV-2 can directly target the kidney and induce renal damage. As the cell surface receptor for SARS-CoV-2 infection, the...

Background Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have been shown to reduce risk of infection as well as severe disease among those with breakthrough infection in adults. The latter effect is particularly important as immune evasion by Omicron variants appears to have made vaccines less effective at preventing infection. Therefore, we aimed to quantify the protection conferred by mRNA vaccination against hospitalization due to SARS-CoV-2 in adolescent and pediatric populations. Methods We retrospectively created a cohort of reported SARS-CoV-2 case records from Ontario’s Public Health Case and Contact Management Solution among those aged 4 to 17 linked to vaccination records from the COVaxON database on January 19, 2022. We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate the association between vaccination and hospitalization among SARS-CoV-2 cases prior to and during the emergence of Omicron. Results We included 62 hospitalized and 27,674 non-hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 cases, with disease onset from May 28, 2021 to December 4, 2021 (Pre-Omicron) and from December 23, 2021 to January 9, 2022 (Omicron). Among adolescents, two mRNA vaccine doses were associated with an 85% (aOR = 0.15; 95% CI: [0.04, 0.53]; p

The objective of the current investigation was to examine associations between symptomatic COVID-19 history, neurocognitive function, and psychiatric …

An investigation by Maharashtra's health department, which analysed 42 Covid patients infected by XBB.1.16, has found that 11 of them had received the

Background: SARS-CoV-2 vaccines play an important role in reducing disease severity, hospitalization, and death, although they failed to prevent the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 variants. Therefore, an effective inhibitor of galectin-3 (Gal-3) could be used to treat and prevent the transmission of COVID-19. ProLectin-M (PL-M), a Gal-3 antagonist, was shown to interact with Gal-3 and thereby prevent cellular entry of SARS-CoV-2 in previous studies. Aim: The present study aimed to further evaluate the therapeutic effect of PL-M tablets in 34 subjects with COVID-19. Methods: The efficacy of PL-M was evaluated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study in patients with mild to moderately severe COVID-19. Primary endpoints included changes in the absolute RT-PCR Ct values of the nucleocapsid and open reading frame (ORF) genes from baseline to days 3 and 7. The incidence of adverse events, changes in blood biochemistry, inflammatory biomarkers, and levels of antibodies against COVID-19 were also evaluated as part of the safety evaluation. Results: PL-M treatment significantly (p = 0.001) increased RT-PCR cycle counts for N and ORF genes on days 3 (Ct values 32.09 ± 2.39 and 30.69 ± 3.38, respectively) and 7 (Ct values 34.91 ± 0.39 and 34.85 ± 0.61, respectively) compared to a placebo treatment. On day 3, 14 subjects in the PL-M group had cycle counts for the N gene above the cut-off value of 29 (target cycle count 29), whereas on day 7, all subjects had cycle counts above the cut-off value. Ct values in placebo subjects were consistently less than 29, and no placebo subjects were RT-PCR-negative until day 7. Most of the symptoms disappeared completely after receiving PL-M treatment for 7 days in more patients compared to the placebo group. Conclusion: PL-M is safe and effective for clinical use in reducing viral loads and promoting rapid viral clearance in COVID-19 patients by inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 entry into cells through the inhibition of Gal-3.

The continuous evolution of new SARS-CoV-2 variants with enhanced immune evasion capacity suggests the entire population is and will continue to be potentially vulnerable to infection despite pre-existing immunity. The ability of each new variant to evade host humoral immunity is the focus of intense research across the globe. Each variant may also harbor unique replication capabilities relevant for disease and transmission. Here we demonstrate the utility of a new approach to assessing viral replication kinetics using Real Time Cell Analysis (RTCA). Virus induced cell death is measured in real time by the detection of electrical impedance through cell monolayers. Using this system, we quantified replication kinetics of five clinically important viral variants; USA WA1/2020 (an A1 ancestral lineage isolate), Delta, and Omicron subvariants BA.1, BA.4, and BA.5. We identified multiple kinetic measures that proved useful in variant replication comparisons including time (in hours) to the maximum rate of cell death at each log10 viral dilution and the slope at the maximum rate of cell death. We found that WA1/2020 and Delta were the most rapid but in distinct ways. While WA1/2020 induced cell death most rapidly after inoculation, Delta was slightly slower to reach cell death, it appeared to kill cells faster once cytotoxic effects began. Interestingly, BA.1, showed substantially reduced replication kinetics relative to all other variants. Together, these data show that real time analysis of cell death is a robust method to assess replicative capacity of any given SARS-CoV-2 variant rapidly and quantitatively, which may be useful in assessment of newly emerging variants. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

Nature Communications - Rare but serious cardiac disease side effects have been linked to COVID-19 vaccinations, especially in young people. Here, the authors find very little evidence of an...

Nature Medicine - Individuals with COVID-19 are at increased long-term risk for a wide range of cardiovascular disorders, even for individuals who were not hospitalized during the acute phase of...

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Clinical Research in Cardiology - Cases of myocarditis, diagnosed clinically by laboratory tests and imaging have been described in the context of mRNA-based anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination....

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a global pandemic. The virus primarily affects the lungs where it induces respiratory distress syndrome ranging from mild to acute, however, there is a growing body of evidence supporting its negative effects on other system organs that also carry the ACE2 receptor, such as the placenta. The majority of newborns delivered from SARS-CoV-2 positive mothers test negative following delivery, suggesting that there are protective mechanisms within the placenta. There appears to be a higher incidence of pregnancy-related complications in SARS-CoV-2 positive mothers, such as miscarriage, restricted fetal growth, or still-birth. In this review, we discuss the pathobiology of COVID-19 maternal infection and the potential adverse effects associated with viral infection, and the possibility of transplacental transmission.

Immunität muss reifen, die Entwicklung eines abwehrbereiten Immungedächtnisses benötigt Zeit. Das kann auch bei einer SARS-CoV-2-Infektion gut gelingen, wie aus einer aktuellen Metaanalyse hervorgeht. Mit dem Stichtag 28. Februar 2023 waren in...

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spreads by airborne transmission; therefore, the development and functional evaluation of air-cleaning technologies are essential for infection control. Air filtration using high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters may be effective; however, no quantitative …

Düsseldorf – Patienten mit Post-COVID-Syndrom weisen offenbar niedrigere Vitamin-D-Spiegel auf als Personen, die nicht an COVID-19 erkrankt waren. Das zeigt... #dgpneumo23 #PostCOVIDSyndrom #DGPKongress #VitaminD

The COVID-19 pandemic represents one of the world’s most important challenges for global public healthcare. Various studies have found an association between severe vitamin D deficiency and COVID-19-related outcomes. Vitamin D plays a crucial role in immune function and inflammation. Recent data have suggested a protective role of vitamin D in COVID-19-related health outcomes. The purpose of this meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis (TSA) was to better explain the strength of the association between the protective role of vitamin D supplementation and the risk of mortality and admission to intensive care units (ICUs) in patients with COVID-19. Methods: We searched four databases on 20 September 2022. Two reviewers screened the randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and assessed the risk of bias, independently and in duplicate. The pre-specified outcomes of interest were mortality and ICU admission. Results: We identified 78 bibliographic citations. After the reviewers’ screening, only five RCTs were found to be suitable for our analysis. We performed meta-analyses and then TSAs. Vitamin D administration results in a decreased risk of death and ICU admission (standardized mean difference (95% CI): 0.49 (0.34–0.72) and 0.28 (0.20–0.39), respectively). The TSA of the protective role of vitamin D and ICU admission showed that, since the pooling of the studies reached a definite sample size, the positive association is conclusive. The TSA of the protective role of vitamin D in mortality risk showed that the z-curve was inside the alpha boundaries, indicating that the positive results need further studies. Discussion: The results of the meta-analyses and respective TSAs suggest a definitive association between the protective role of vitamin D and ICU hospitalization.

This cohort study investigates whether positive and negative expectations are associated with systemic adverse effects among adults receiving their second dose of COVID-19 vaccines.

Die Auswirkungen der Corona-Pandemie hatten im vergangenen Jahr massive Folgen: Beim allgemeinen Krankenstand verzeichnete der Wissenschaftliche Dienst der Ortskrankenkassen (WIdO) 2022 einen historischen Höchstwert.

Eine Pilotstudie untersuchte den Effekt einer ergänzenden Behandlung bei mildem bis moderatem COVID-19. Die Nahrungsergänzung beinhaltete Curcumin (aus Kurkuma), Quercetin (z.B. Blattgemüse und Brokkoli) und Vitamin D (Sonnenvitamin), die als entzündungshemmend und antiviral bekannt sind. Mit Hilfe der Ergänzungstherapie in der Frühphase der Erkrankung wurden Patienten schneller wieder negativ getestet. Akutsymptome klärten sich schneller als in der Kontrollgruppe. Blutwerte deuteten zudem darauf, dass die Nahrungsergänzung entzündlichen Prozessen bei COVID-19 entgegenwirkte.

Correction to previous report

Myocarditis and pericarditis are potential post-acute cardiac sequelae of COVID-19 infection, arising from adaptive immune responses. We aimed to study the incidence of post-acute COVID-19 myocarditis and pericarditis. Retrospective cohort study of 196,992 adults after COVID-19 infection in Clalit Health Services members in Israel between March 2020 and January 2021. Inpatient myocarditis and pericarditis diagnoses were retrieved from day 10 after positive PCR. Follow-up was censored on 28 February 2021, with minimum observation of 18 days. The control cohort of 590,976 adults with at least one negative PCR and no positive PCR were age- and sex-matched. Since the Israeli vaccination program was initiated on 20 December 2020, the time-period matching of the control cohort was calculated backward from 15 December 2020. Nine post-COVID-19 patients developed myocarditis (0.0046%), and eleven patients were diagnosed with pericarditis (0.0056%). In the control cohort, 27 patients had myocarditis (0.0046%) and 52 had pericarditis (0.0088%). Age (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.96, 95% confidence interval [CI]; 0.93 to 1.00) and male sex (aHR 4.42; 95% CI, 1.64 to 11.96) were associated with myocarditis. Male sex (aHR 1.93; 95% CI 1.09 to 3.41) and peripheral vascular disease (aHR 4.20; 95% CI 1.50 to 11.72) were associated with pericarditis. Post COVID-19 infection was not associated with either myocarditis (aHR 1.08; 95% CI 0.45 to 2.56) or pericarditis (aHR 0.53; 95% CI 0.25 to 1.13). We did not observe an increased incidence of neither pericarditis nor myocarditis in adult patients recovering from COVID-19 infection.

Estimates of the risk of all-cause and cardiac death in the 12 weeks after vaccination or positive SARS-CoV-2 test compared with subsequent weeks, in England.

Obese patients are at increased risk of exacerbations from viral respiratory infections. During the H1N1 pandemic, obesity was associated with an increased risk of influenza-associated intensive care unit (ICU) admission and death, longer duration of mechanical ventilation, and longer duration of ICU and hospital length of stay compared with the non-obese. These observations have raised a concern about the correlation between obesity and the current COVID-19 pandemic. In this review, we have outlined the potential impacts of obesity on respiratory physiology and the function of both innate and adaptive immune responses. Also, it has been clearly illustrated that obese patients are potentially more vulnerable to COVID-19 and more contagious than lean patients. The comorbidities associated with obesity were found to be correlated with a severe clinical course of COVID-19 and increased mortality and high BMI has been shown to be correlated with hospitalisation, the need for mechanical ventilation and non-survival. The review also sheds light on the challenges that obese patients pose for healthcare providers inside and outside ICUs.