Coronavirus-related syndrome occurs in older adults; stillbirths cause concern

(Reuters) – The following is a brief summary of some of the latest scientific studies on the new coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

COVID-19 inflammatory syndrome now seen in adults

Currently, a rare and life-threatening condition is also being reported in some children and young adults after exposure to the new coronavirus. The condition, known as Multisystemic Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), can attack multiple organs, damage heart function and weaken the heart arteries. Initially, children experience fever, rash, conjunctivitis, swelling of the lower extremities, pain in the arms and legs, and significant gastrointestinal symptoms. New York University doctors, in a report Saturday in the Lancet medical journal, reported a similar case in a 45-year-old man. Doctors at the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn reported a case in a 36-year-old woman last month in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine. While both investigative teams cautioned against drawing conclusions from these isolated cases, they said they want to “raise awareness” of the possibility that the syndrome may occur in adults. (bit.ly/3edTSyk; bit.ly/3ex1nkd)

London Hospital Reports Increased Fetal Deaths During Pandemic

The number of fetal deaths in a large London hospital has increased significantly during the pandemic. In the four months prior to the pandemic, there were approximately two fetal deaths among every 1,000 births at St George’s University Hospital. From February to mid-June, there were approximately nine fetal deaths for every 1,000 births. The research appeared Friday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. None of the women with fetal deaths during the pandemic period had been diagnosed with COVID-19, the researchers said. But they noted that the coronavirus could still have been responsible given that previous research showed that up to 90% of infected pregnant women in Britain had no symptoms and therefore could not be tested for the virus. The increase in fetal deaths may also be an indirect effect of the pandemic, they said. If women avoided visiting a doctor or hospital for fear of infection, serious problems, such as reduced fetal movements or pregnancy-related high blood pressure, might have been overlooked. (bit.ly/2Wf86bT)

Milder coronavirus infections generate fewer antibodies

Any immunity to reinfection with coronavirus among people who have already received COVID-19 could decrease after a few months, particularly if their infection was mild, two studies suggest. Researchers from Kings College London tracked 65 patients with COVID-19 for up to 94 days. All but two developed neutralizing antibodies that defend against future virus attacks, the researchers reported Saturday on the medRxiv website before the peer review. People with more severe infections had more neutralizing antibodies, but in all, the levels of those antibodies peaked after three to four weeks and then decreased. Antibodies are protective proteins generated by the immune system in response to an invading pathogen. “If the person had a high level of antibodies, then the level of neutralizing antibodies was still high after two or three months,” study leader Katie Doores told Reuters. But in people with milder infections, who developed fewer neutralizing antibodies, those antibodies began to disappear after two to three months, similar to what is seen in patients recovering from seasonal coronaviruses that cause common colds. “We are not trying to say that immunity has disappeared after three months. There are still many unknowns that need to be addressed, especially the level of antibodies that would be needed to protect against infection,” Doores said. “In terms of vaccination, this study suggests that a booster vaccine may be required,” added Doores. In a separate study published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, Australian researchers reported that 41 people who had experienced mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 had inconsistent and “generally modest” neutralizing antibody responses. This adds to the evidence that milder infections in most people do not elicit a complete immune response that could provide some future protection. (bit.ly/2ASllrA; go.nature.com/38YQwhB)

Quick walkers may have a lower risk of severe COVID-19.

How fast people walk can generally be related to their risk of developing severe COVID-19, a new study suggested. The researchers analyzed data from more than 400,000 participants in the UK Biobank, a British registry that closely tracks people’s health for many years. Overall, 973 participants developed a coronavirus infection severe enough to require hospitalization. Compared to people of normal weight, people with obesity had a 49% higher risk of severe COVID-19. But slow walkers had the highest risk for severe COVID-19 regardless of obesity status. For example, normal-weight people who generally walked at a slow pace (less than 3 miles per hour (4.8 km per hour)) were more than twice as likely to develop severe COVID-19 compared to normal-weight people who they generally walked more. energetically: more than 4 miles per hour (6.4 km per hour). People who walk slowly often have other underlying conditions that contribute to poor health. Walking speed is often used to assess the physical ability of adults and to predict the risk of future illness, disability, and death. “Self-reported gait rhythm, a simple measure of functional fitness, appears to be a risk factor for severe COVID-19 that is independent of obesity,” the authors of the current study wrote in an article published Saturday in medRxiv, earlier peer review. (bit.ly/3enVvth)

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