By Nancy Lapid
(Reuters) – The following is a roundup 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.
Neuromuscular disease can be triggered by COVID-19
Researchers have added the muscle-weakening disease myasthenia gravis to the list of neurological problems linked to severe COVID-19. Tremors, seizures, impaired consciousness and other nervous system problems are all linked to severe COVID-19. In some cases, the virus seems to trick the body into attacking the brain by triggering the immune system to produce so-called autoantibodies, which inadvertently target a person’s own tissues or organs. In myasthenia gravis, autoantibodies attack nerve connections to muscles, and skeletal muscles that support and move parts of the body become weak after activity. On Monday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, doctors described three patients without a previous neurological or autoimmune disorder whose symptoms of myasthenia gravis began within a week after fever related to COVID-19 began. The time from coronavirus infection to the onset of symptoms of myasthenia gravis “is consistent with the time from infection until symptoms in other neurological disorders are triggered by infections,” the researchers said. She added that the findings add to “the growing evidence of other neurological disorders with adopted autoimmune mechanisms after the onset of COVID-19.” (https://bit.ly/2PPI1wo)
Vaping by young people linked to higher COVID-19 risk
Vaping appears to be linked to markedly increased risks of getting COVID-19 among American teens and young adults. Researchers analyzed nationally representative survey data collected in May from 4,351 participants ages 13-24 in a study published Tuesday in the Journal of Adolescent Health. Those who had used both cigarettes and e-cigarettes in the previous 30 days were 4.7 times more likely to report experiencing COVID-19 symptoms compared to those who had never smoked or smoked. Among participants who tested for COVID-19, those who simply used e-cigarettes were five times more likely to report a positive test. Those who had ever used both e-cigarettes and cigarettes were seven times more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19. Dr David Christiani of Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, who was not involved in the study, told Reuters there are many reasons why people who vape would be at increased risk of taking COVID-19 get. Studies have shown that “gun fluids restrict local immunity in the nose and the rest of the respiratory tract. Once these defenses are restricted, it will make people more viable for infection,” Christiani said. Also, the study’s authors found, vaping involves repeated contact with the mouth and face, which is associated with the spread of the virus. (https://reut.rs/33QGZZu; https://bit.ly/2XQR9oX)
Face masks could help diagnose disease day in and day out
Some face masks are effective in limiting the spread of COVID-19, some are not – and some, researchers say, might help diagnose diseases unrelated to the coronavirus. Researchers report in the journal Science Advances that N95 masks are most effective as long as they do not have a ventilator that can escape the wearer’s exhaled breath. Next most effective are surgical masks, followed by multi-layer cotton masks. Bandanas only minimize the escape of exhaled drops. Fleece fabrics were worn around the neck and pulled over the face “seemed to disperse the largest droplets into a multitude of smaller droplets” that stay longer in the air so they can be “counterproductive”, the researchers said. A separate report in the journal Analytical Chemistry explains that although molecules in exhaled breath can manifest disease, collecting enough molecules to diagnose a problem requires breathing in tubes or bags. But a specific type of glass fiber injection placed in a mask can collect enough molecules while carriers go about their normal activities. After volunteers wore the masks with the inserts, by examining the insight of the glass fiber with mass spectrometry, researchers were even able to track how many exhaled particles were visible. (https://bit.ly/33RR2gR; https://bit.ly/2XX6qVA)
Certain immune responses may contribute to severe COVID-19
Researchers who compared innate immune responses – the body’s first line of defense – compared patients with coronavirus infections and in healthy people found several differences that could reflect light on COVID-19 and why some cases become so severe. There were differences, for example in the number and function of different types of cells in blood, in gene activity in cells isolated from blood, and in levels of inflammatory molecules. In particular, three molecules that were elevated in very sick patients – called LIGHT, Oncostatin-M and EN-RAGE – have been linked to pneumonia but have not been seen before in COVID-19 patients, the researchers reported on Tuesday in the journal Science. Severely ill patients also had bacterial punctures, such as bacterial DNA and cell wall materials, in their blood. The more pounds, the safer the patient, and the more inflammatory substances circulating in the blood. But surprisingly, “although there were improved levels of inflammatory molecules in plasma, the blood cells themselves were in a state of functional sluggishness, and failed to respond efficiently to stimulation,” senior author Bali Pulendran of Stanford University told Reuters. Overall, Pulendran said, “the study provides mechanistic insights and potential therapeutic targets for COVID-19.” (https://bit.ly/31NSZs7)
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(Report by Nancy Lapid and Vishwadha Chander; Edited by Will Dunham)
