SARS-CoV-2 and the central nervous system: Emerging insights into hemorrhage-associated neurological consequences and therapeutic considerations - PubMed
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to impact our lives by causing widespread illness and death and poses a threat due to the possibility of emerging strains. SARS-CoV-2 targets angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE …
Covid 19 may accelerate brain aging increase neurological risk
In COVID-19 patients and survivors, brain imaging studies have identified microbleed lesions in deep brain regions associated with cognitive and memory functions. Microbleeds are frequently found in people with chronic stress, depressive disorders, diabetes, and age-associated comorbidities. In the review, the authors report that COVID-19-induced microhemorrhagic lesions may exacerbate DNA damage in affected brain cells, resulting in neuronal senescence and activation of cell death mechanisms, ultimately impacting brain microstructure-vasculature.
Although up to 30% of patients report lingering “brain fog” after COVID-19, more severe long-term effects can include predispositions for Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, and related neurodegenerative diseases, as well as cardiovascular disorders from internal bleeding and blood clotting-induced lesions in the part of the brain that regulates the respiratory system.
Additionally, cellular aging is believed to be accelerated. As numerous cellular stresses inhibit virus-infected cells from undergoing their normal biological functions, the cells enter into “hibernation mode” or die completely, according to the research team.
“[C]areful medical and clinical follow-ups should be performed to diagnose early symptoms of neuropathological, neuropsychiatric, and/or cardiovascular dysfunctions to prevent patients from developing irreversible motor/cognitive impairments and cardiovascular disorders,” the authors advised.
Gout and the risk of COVID-19 diagnosis and death in the UK Biobank: a population-based study
There is a paucity of data on outcomes for people with gout and COVID-19. We aimed to assess whether gout is a risk factor for diagnosis of COVID-19 and COVID-19-related death, and to test for sex- and drug-specific differences in risk.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created many challenges for people with gout. At present, there is a lack of guidance on the management of gout during the pandemic and paucity of research assessing outcomes of COVID-19 infection in people with gout.
Corona: Antivirale Therapie kann Virus-Mutationen fördern
Virale Ausweichstrategie: Virologen haben neue Erkenntnisse dazu, wann und warum das Coronavirus mutiert und neue Varianten bildet. Demnach fördert die
Nature - Some studies suggest that the risk of cardiovascular problems, such as a heart attack or stroke, remains high even many months after a SARS-CoV-2 infection clears up. Researchers are...
Non-SARS Coronaviruses in Individuals with Psychiatric Disorders
Background: The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has highlighted the importance of coronaviruses in human health. Several seasonal, non-SARS Coronaviruses are endemic in most areas of the world. In a previous study, we...
The schizophrenia group had significantly increased levels of antibodies to the seasonal Coronaviruses OC43 and NL63. This group also had increased odds of having elevated antibody levels to OC43. The major depression group showed a significantly lower level of antibodies to Coronavirus 229E. There were no significant differences between any of the psychiatric groups and the comparison group in the levels of antibodies to seasonal Coronaviruses 229E or HKU1.
Emergence of immune escape at dominant SARS-CoV-2 killer T cell epitope
Analysis of the CD8+ T cell response to various SARS-CoV-2 lineages identifies a mutation in the viral spike protein that enables the virus to escape T cell responses.
Travel-associated SARS-CoV-2 transmission documented with whole genome sequencing following a long-haul international flight
AbstractBackground. Multiple instances of flight-associated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission during long-haul flights h
Npa2 and Npa3 SARS-CoV-2 protein have the ability to hijack and degrade p53.
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Gene expression of p53 is downregulated in blood of COVID-19 patients.
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Downregulation of p53 persists at least 24 weeks after infection in long COVID-19 patients.
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Long-term reduction of p53 could have impact on carcinogenesis.
Neuropsychiatric Ramifications of Severe COVID-19 and Other Severe Acute Respiratory Infections
This cohort study of electronic health care data of more than 8 million individuals in England attempts to quantify the neuropsychiatric sequelae following discharge from COVID-19 hospitalization compared with patients surviving hospitalization due to non–COVID-19 severe acute respiratory...
Neurological and psychiatric risk trajectories after SARS-CoV-2 infection: an analysis of 2-year retrospective cohort studies including 1 284 437 patients
We identified 1 487 712 patients with a recorded diagnosis of COVID-19 during the study period, of whom 1 284 437 (185 748 children, 856 588 adults, and 242 101 older adults; overall mean age 42·5 years [SD 21·9]; 741 806 [57·8%] were female and 542 192 [42·2%] were male) were adequately matched with an equal number of patients with another respiratory infection. The risk trajectories of outcomes after SARS-CoV-2 infection in the whole cohort differed substantially. While most outcomes had HRs significantly greater than 1 after 6 months (with the exception of encephalitis; Guillain-Barré syndrome; nerve, nerve root, and plexus disorder; and parkinsonism), their risk horizons and time to equal incidence varied greatly. Risks of the common psychiatric disorders returned to baseline after 1–2 months (mood disorders at 43 days, anxiety disorders at 58 days) and subsequently reached an equal overall incidence to the matched comparison group (mood disorders at 457 days, anxiety disorders at 417 days). By contrast, risks of cognitive deficit (known as brain fog), dementia, psychotic disorders, and epilepsy or seizures were still increased at the end of the 2-year follow-up period. Post-COVID-19 risk trajectories differed in children compared with adults: in the 6 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection, children were not at an increased risk of mood (HR 1·02 [95% CI 0·94–1·10) or anxiety (1·00 [0·94–1·06]) disorders, but did have an increased risk of cognitive deficit, insomnia, intracranial haemorrhage, ischaemic stroke, nerve, nerve root, and plexus disorders, psychotic disorders, and epilepsy or seizures (HRs ranging from 1·20 [1·09–1·33] to 2·16 [1·46–3·19]). Unlike adults, cognitive deficit in children had a finite risk horizon (75 days) and a finite time to equal incidence (491 days). A sizeable proportion of older adults who received a neurological or psychiatric diagnosis, in either cohort, subsequently died, especially those diagnosed with dementia or epilepsy or seizures. Risk profiles were similar just before versus just after the emergence of the alpha variant (n=47 675 in each cohort). Just after (vs just before) the emergence of the delta variant (n=44 835 in each cohort), increased risks of ischaemic stroke, epilepsy or seizures, cognitive deficit, insomnia, and anxiety disorders were observed, compounded by an increased death rate. With omicron (n=39 845 in each cohort), there was a lower death rate than just before emergence of the variant, but the risks of neurological and psychiatric outcomes remained similar.
This analysis of 2-year retrospective cohort studies of individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 showed that the increased incidence of mood and anxiety disorders was transient, with no overall excess of these diagnoses compared with other respiratory infections. In contrast, the increased risk of psychotic disorder, cognitive deficit, dementia, and epilepsy or seizures persisted throughout. The differing trajectories suggest a different pathogenesis for these outcomes. Children have a more benign overall profile of psychiatric risk than do adults and older adults, but their sustained higher risk of some diagnoses is of concern. The fact that neurological and psychiatric outcomes were similar during the delta and omicron waves indicates that the burden on the health-care system might continue even with variants that are less severe in other respects. Our findings are relevant to understanding individual-level and population-level risks of neurological and psychiatric disorders after SARS-CoV-2 infection and can help inform our responses to them.
Deaths by vaccination status, England - Office for National Statistics
Age-standardised mortality rates for deaths involving coronavirus (COVID-19), non-COVID-19 deaths and all deaths by vaccination status, broken down by age group.
An Antibody from Single Human VH-rearranging Mouse Neutralizes All SARS-CoV-2 Variants Through BA.5 by Inhibiting Membrane Fusion
SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sub-variants have generated a world-wide health crisis due to resistance to most approved SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies and evasion of vaccination-induced antibodies. To manage Omicron sub-variants and prepare for potential new variants, additional means of isolating broad and potent humanized SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibodies are desirable. Here, we describe a mouse model in which the primary B cell receptor (BCR) repertoire is generated solely through V(D)J recombination of a human VH1-2 heavy chain (HC) and, substantially, a human Vκ1-33 light chain (LC). Thus, primary humanized BCR repertoire diversity in these mice derives from immensely diverse HC and LC antigen-contact complementarity-region-3 (CDR3) sequences generated by non-templated junctional modifications during V(D)J recombination. Immunizing the human VH1-2/Vκ1-33-rearranging mouse model with SARS-CoV-2 (Wuhan-Hu-1) spike protein immunogens elicited several VH1-2/Vκ1-33-based neutralizing antibodies that bound RBD in a different mode from each other and from those of many prior human patient-derived VH1-2-based neutralizing antibodies. Of these, SP1-77 potently and broadly neutralized all SARS-CoV-2 variants through BA.5. Cryo-EM studies revealed that SP1-77 bound RBD away from the receptor-binding-motif via a CDR3-dominated recognition mode. Lattice-light-sheet-microscopy-based studies showed that SP1-77 did not block ACE2-mediated viral attachment or endocytosis, but rather blocked viral-host membrane fusion. The broad and potent SP1-77 neutralization activity and non-traditonal mechanism of action suggest this antibody might have therapeutic potential. Likewise, the SP1-77 binding epitope may further inform on vacccine strategies. Finally, the general class of humanized mouse models we have described may contribute to identifying therapeutic antibodies against future SARS-CoV-2 variants and other pathogens.
Rate of SARS-CoV-2 Reinfection During an Omicron Wave in Iceland
This cohort study estimates the proportion of persons who became reinfected with SARS-CoV-2 during the Omicron wave in Iceland.
Surprisingly, 2 or more doses of vaccine were associated with a slightly higher probability of reinfection compared with 1 dose or less. This finding should be interpreted with caution because of limitations of our study, which include the inability to adjust for the complex relationships among prior infection, vaccine eligibility, and underlying conditions. Importantly, by December 1, 2021, all persons aged 12 years and older were eligible for 2 or more vaccine doses free of charge, and 71.1% of the Icelandic population had been vaccinated,5 compared with only 25.5% of our cohort of previously infected persons.
SARS-CoV2-assoziierte Veränderungen der Hirnstruktur im Langzeitverlauf bei nicht-hospitalisierten Personen - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Neurologie e. V.
Anhand von Daten der in der prä-Pandemie-Ära begonnenen, longitudinal angelegten „UK Biobank“ konnten erstmals zerebrale MRT-Befunde vor und nach COVID-19 bei denselben Personen erhoben und mit einer Kontrollgruppe Nicht-Infizierter verglichen werden [1]. Im Ergebnis zeigte sich bei den zwischenzeitlich SARS-CoV-2-Infizierten ein Rückgang an grauer Substanz im orbitofrontalen Kortex sowie eine Abnahme der Gesamthirnmasse. Bei den […]
Sehr guter Artikel - passt auf (nicht nur bei COVID), ob in einem Argument "orange Kreise", also absolute und nicht relative Fakten, vorkommen.Und passt noch mehr darauf auf, wie diese unverrückbaren Fakten durch "blaue Kreise" relativiert werden.⬇️⬇️https://t.co/KxKnlba9eo pic.twitter.com/XWoYJrgwAI— Michael (Mike) Meier (@AK_Meier) August 3, 2021
Lebenserwartung in Deutschland seit Beginn der Pandemie gesunken
Die durchschnittliche Lebenserwartung betrug im Jahr 2021 für neugeborene Mädchen 83,2 Jahre und für neugeborene Jungen 78,2 Jahre. Wie das Statistische Bundesamt (Destatis) weiter mitteilt, hat sich die Lebenserwartung von Neugeborenen im Vergleich zum letzten Vorpandemiejahr 2019 deutlich verringert: Bei Jungen um 0,6 Jahre, bei Mädchen um 0,4 Jahre. Hauptgrund für diese Entwicklung sind die außergewöhnlich hohen Sterbefallzahlen während der Coronawellen. Die Entwicklung der Lebenserwartung zeigt Veränderungen der Sterblichkeit an, die von der Altersstruktur unabhängig sind. Sie ist deshalb besonders gut für Zeitvergleiche geeignet.
Wirkung von Antikörpern gegen Omikron-Varianten BA.1 und BA.2 lässt schnell nach | Aktuelles aus der Goethe-Universität Frankfurt
Die von etwa Dezember bis April dominanten Omikron-Varianten BA.1 und BA.2 des SARS-CoV-2-Virus können bereits nach drei Monaten den Schutz vor einer Infektion unterlaufen, den Impfungen oder überstandene Infektionen bieten. […]
Some friends and I are currently in an interesting covid predicament, which we're calling "phantom-covid", we don't know anyone who's had this experience and we can't find any precedent for it, but we're pretty desperate to figure out what's going on, so time to turn to twitter🧵 pic.twitter.com/EU5G3IZ8BI— Saoi O’Connor (@saoi4climate) August 14, 2022
The rise of BA.2.75 has been studied very carefully by @TWenseleers and its trajectory may vary considerably between countries. Or we could see a co-dominance pattern, something that hasn't occurred yet /9 pic.twitter.com/myYGLCDDGg— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) August 14, 2022
Aggressive Presentation and Rapid Progression of Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head After COVID-19 - PubMed
ONFH after COVID-19 can have a varied presentation. While the most common presentation is like classical ONFH, some patients can have an acute and aggressive presentation with rapid destruction. They have features like elevated serological markers and extensive periarticular bone and soft tissue ede …
Impact of Lifting School Masking Requirements on Incidence of COVID-19 among Staff and Students in Greater-Boston Area School Districts: A Difference-in-Differences Analysis
Background. In February 2022, following the rescinding of a Massachusetts statewide school masking mandate, only two cities (Boston and neighboring Chelsea) out of 79 school districts in the greater-Boston area, maintained masking requirements in K-12 schools. This provided an opportunity to examine the impact of removing masking on COVID-19 case rates among students and staff in the public-school setting. Methods. We used difference-in-differences for staggered policy adoption to compare incidence of COVID-19 cases among students and staff in greater-Boston area school districts that lifted masking requirements to those that had not yet lifted masking requirements during the 2021-2022 school year. Results. Before the statewide school masking policy was lifted, there was no statistically significant difference in case rate trajectories between school districts. However, weekly and cumulative case rates were significantly higher in students and staff in school districts that removed masking requirements, compared to districts that had not yet lifted requirements. We estimate that lifting of school masking requirements was associated with an additional 44.9 (95% CI: 32.6, 57.1) COVID-19 cases per 1,000 students and staff over the 15 weeks since the lifting of the statewide school masking requirement, representing nearly 30% of all cases observed in schools during that time. School districts that sustained masking requirements for longer periods tended to have older school buildings in poorer condition, more crowded classrooms, higher proportion of low income and English learning students and students with disabilities, and a higher proportion of Black and Latinx students and staff. Conclusions. Masking is a relatively low-cost but effective intervention that can protect students and staff from substantial illness and loss of in-person days in school. Despite compelling evidence that masking significantly reduces the spread of SARS-CoV-2, political will and public adherence to masking has waned. Our study confirms that universal masking requirements can benefit all students and staff, and therefore represents an important strategy to mitigate the impacts of structural racism, ensure health equity, and to avoid potential deepening of educational inequities. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This study did not receive any external funding. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes All data utilized in this study are publicly available through the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (https://www.doe.mass.edu/covid19/positive-cases/default.html#weekly-report); Massachusetts Department of Public Health (https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-response-reporting); and the Massachusetts School Building Authority (https://www.massschoolbuildings.org/programs/school_survey)
