New vaccine platform: 'Two-one replicon-and-VLP-minispike vaccine' against COVID-19
To stop the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, vaccines of high quality, safety, and efficacy are required. Scientists of the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut and the Ludwig Maximilian University at Munich have conceived in the laboratory a novel vector vaccine based on the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) with only one part of the spike protein as antigen. They have tested the characteristics of this vaccine in mice.
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COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are immunogenic in pregnant and lactating women
Pregnant women with symptomatic COVID-19 have a higher risk of intensive care unit admissions, mechanical ventilation and death compared to non-pregnant reproductive age women. Increases in preterm birth and still birth have also been observed in pregnancies complicated by the viral infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that people who are pregnant may choose to be vaccinated at their own discretion with their healthcare provider.
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Major differences in COVID patient care caused by insufficient data, misleading advice
While there was extensive use of drug repurposing throughout the first 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was substantial heterogeneity over the types of drugs used for treatment purposes globally. Some drugs, including hydroxychloroquine, saw sharp declines in use, while adjunctive therapies grew into a more relied upon method for patient management.
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Researchers develop better way to determine safe drug doses for children
Determining safe yet effective drug dosages for children is an ongoing challenge for pharmaceutical companies and medical doctors alike. A new drug is usually first tested on adults, and results from these trials are used to select doses for pediatric trials. The underlying assumption is typically that children are like adults, just smaller, which often holds true, but may also overlook differences that arise from the fact that children's organs are still developing.
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Our immune systems blanket the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein with antibodies
The most complete picture yet is coming into focus of how antibodies produced in people who effectively fight off SARS-CoV-2 work to neutralize the part of the virus responsible for causing infection. In the journal Science, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin describe the finding, which represents good news for designing the next generation of vaccines to protect against variants of the virus or future emerging coronaviruses.
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Using personalized medicine to avoid resistance to leukemia treatment
T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a very aggressive type of blood cancer. It is relatively rare but still draws a lot of attention as it mostly develops in children under the age of 20. The standard treatment for T-ALL involves heavy chemotherapy procedures, which result in favorable outcomes with an overall survival of 75% after 5 years.
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Speeding new treatments
A year into the COVID-19 pandemic, mass vaccinations have begun to raise the tantalizing prospect of herd immunity that eventually curtails or halts the spread of SARS-CoV-2. But what if herd immunity is never fully achieved - or if the mutating virus gives rise to hyper-virulent variants that diminish the benefits of vaccination?
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