Research

Anticancer drug may improve outcome for severe COVID-19 patients

Treating severe COVID-19 patients with the anticancer drug bevacizumab may reduce mortality and speed up recovery, according to a small clinical study in Italy and China that was led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden between February and April 2020. On average, blood oxygen levels, body temperature and inflammatory markers significantly improved in patients treated with a single dose of bevacizumab in addition to standard care.

How SARS-CoV-2 mutates to escape antibody binding

In a recurring pattern of evolution, SARS-CoV-2 evades immune responses by selectively deleting small bits of its genetic sequence, according to new research from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Since these deletions happen in a part of the sequence that encodes for the shape of the spike protein, the formerly neutralizing antibody can't grab hold of the virus, the researchers report today in Science.

Early functional SARS-COV-2 specific T cell response may prevent severe infection

Humoral and cellular adaptive immunity are two immune mechanisms that act against pathogens. Humoral immunity is mediated by antibodies, while cellular immunity does not involve antibodies and is, instead, facilitated by T cells. Studying how these immune mechanisms mediate SARS-CoV-2 infections could be beneficial in controlling the progression of the disease.

Novel molecules to combat asthma and COVID-related lung diseases discovered

A study designed to study how the immune system impacts gut bacteria - has led to the extraordinary discovery of two molecules that can not only provide profound protection in experimental models of asthma but can also substantially reduce the severity of an attack.

Neither of these molecules, one of which is already commercially available as a dietary supplement, were previously known to have an effect on asthma - and they also appear, from animal studies, to have a role in treating the respiratory illness that is prevalent, and often fatal, in people with serious COVID-19.

Obesity, impaired metabolic health and COVID-19

In a Nature Reviews Endocrinology article authors from the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) highlight the interconnection of obesity and impaired metabolic health with the severity of COVID-19. First, they provide information about the independent relationships of obesity, disproportionate fat distribution and impaired metabolic health with the severity of COVID-19.

COVID-19 has multiple faces

According to current studies, the COVID-19 disease which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus comprises at least five different variants. These differ in how the immune system responds to the infection. Researchers from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the University of Bonn, together with other experts from Germany, Greece and the Netherlands, present these findings in the scientific journal "Genome Medicine".

Metformin use reduces risk of death for patients with COVID-19 and diabetes

Use of the diabetes drug metformin - before a diagnosis of COVID-19 - is associated with a threefold decrease in mortality in COVID-19 patients with Type 2 diabetes, according to a racially diverse study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Diabetes is a significant comorbidity for COVID-19.

Anticancer drug may improve outcome for severe COVID-19 patients

How SARS-CoV-2 mutates to escape antibody binding

Early functional SARS-COV-2 specific T cell response may prevent severe infection

Novel molecules to combat asthma and COVID-related lung diseases discovered

Obesity, impaired metabolic health and COVID-19

COVID-19 has multiple faces

Metformin use reduces risk of death for patients with COVID-19 and diabetes

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