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.
A healthcare worker wearing protective equipment holds a child while taking a swab sample from his mother to assess for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a testing center of the Institute for Health Research, Epidemiological Surveillance and Training (IRESSEF), in Dakar, Senegal, July 24, 2020. REUTERS / Zohra Bensemra
Coronavirus “Exquisite Potency” Antibodies Found
Scientists have found 19 powerful antibodies that neutralize the new coronavirus, including nine that exhibit “exquisite potency,” according to a study published in Nature. Compared to previously isolated antibodies, some of the new ones target different regions of the so-called spike protein. “Finding antibodies targeting different regions of the beak allows a greater / better chance of forming antibody cocktails to bind the virus and prevent viral resistance,” Dr. David Ho, Director of the AIDS Research Center Aaron Diamond of Columbia University. . Furthermore, the recently found antibodies can be easily generated by the immune system and potentially be used to both treat and prevent infections, he added. “An antibody cocktail could be administered to infected patients early in the course of the infection, especially if they are elderly or have underlying chronic conditions,” Ho said, citing nursing home residents as an example. “These people generally don’t mount a robust immune response to vaccines, so antibodies might be an ideal approach.” (go.nature.com/2ZXZLeU)
With caution, newborns can stay with infected mothers.
A study of 120 babies born to mothers with COVID-19 found no cases of transmission of the virus during delivery or after two weeks of breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact, reinforcing the case of newborns staying with their mothers. whenever safety precautions are taken. observed. At the beginning of the pandemic, some experts advised that infected mothers temporarily separate from their newborns, but more recently the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics have said that breastfeeding and room swapping may be safe. with proper precautions. In the new study, published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health on Thursday, babies were kept in closed cribs except during feeding, and mothers wore surgical masks and followed frequent breast and hand-washing procedures. “We know that skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding are important for both the mother-baby bond and long-term infant health,” co-author Dr. Patricia DeLaMora of Weill Cornell Medicine-New York Presbyterian said in a statement from press. “Our findings suggest that babies born to mothers with COVID-19 infection can still safely benefit from these, if appropriate infection control measures are followed.” (bit.ly/39oUCQk)
Blood test can identify COVID-19 patients who need steroids
A blood test can help identify coronavirus patients who would benefit from steroids early in their illness, the researchers said, after a standard trial published last week showed that dexamethasone reduced deaths in COVID patients. -19 who needed oxygen or mechanical ventilation. In a report published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine on Wednesday, doctors said two other widely available steroids are also helpful. They studied more than 1,800 hospitalized patients with COVID-19, including 140 who were treated in the first 48 hours with dexamethasone, prednisone, or methylprednisolone. In general, steroids did not appear to reduce mechanical ventilation or death rates. However, the first steroid treatments in patients with high levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the blood, indicating high levels of inflammation, reduced the possibility of mechanical ventilation by 80% and the risk of death by 77 %. Using the PCR levels to identify COVID-19 patients who could benefit from steroids is a potentially good idea, doctors say. But to test that, and also to see if different steroids can give different results, you need a randomized controlled trial. (bit.ly/3jAORUv)
Similar COVID-19 viral loads in children and adults
Children and adults who had been sick with COVID-19 for a few days had similar amounts of the virus in their nose and throat, according to a study published in medRxiv before the peer review. Coronavirus infections are less common and generally milder in children, but their role as carriers of COVID-19 is still unclear. “Overall, we can’t say if children are as likely to infect others as adults, but at least because of the amount of virus found in the upper respiratory tract, biologically it would be possible for them to infect others,” he said. study leader Dr. Isabella Eckerle of the Geneva Center for Emerging Viral Diseases. She noted that the amount of virus is only one factor among many contributing to infectivity, and the study only included sick children, while many infected children have no symptoms. (bit.ly/2OQ06dz)
Open here in an external browser for a Reuters chart of vaccines and treatments in development.
.
